NEW ORLEANS — A fiery holiday tradition in the river parishes could turn out to be a wet one this year. Rain is expected on Christmas Eve when bonfires are set to light up the night sky.
“It brings people from all over,” said St. James Parish resident Brandon Bourgeois who was just beginning to build his bonfire with the help of two friends.
Bourgeois and his friends are self-admitted procrastinators.
“We’re always last minute and you see we don’t have much help,” said Bourgeois.
Their traditional bonfire was one of several unfinished wooden creations on the levee in St. James Parish Wednesday.
“Almost everybody is almost done with their bonfire,” laughed Bourgeois.
While the weather was perfect for building Wednesday, there’s some concern about whether it’ll be perfect for burning when night falls on Christmas Eve.
“We’ll probably have to wrap the bonfire, so it doesn’t get too wet,” said Bourgeois.
According to New Orleans and Company, which promotes tourism in the region, wet or unfavorable weather has only canceled or postponed the burning once before, in 1982. The COVID pandemic canceled it in 2020. This year, a months-long statewide burn ban, which ended last month, threatened it as well.
“If we can, we want them to burn,” said St. John Parish Fire Chief Cain Dufrene. “Whatever we got to do to make the burn happen we want it to burn.”
Dufrene says firefighters will do what they’ve always done despite any rain.
“The day of the bonfires, Christmas Eve, we’ll go out there and we’ll do a final inspection of all the bonfires, issue them what we call a burn permit, permission to actually burn the bonfire,” said Dufrene.
Any cancelation or postponement will come from festival and parish leaders, which could be a last-minute decision. That’s not stopping these friends from carrying on the tradition.
“It’s a pretty sight. It gives you the chills,” said Bourgeois. “I know it’s supposed to rain but that hasn’t stopped us in the past.’
A past that lights the way for today’s generation and will continue to burn for those to come.
Portions of River Road will be contraflow traffic for a few hours during Christmas Eve.
In St. John Parish, the portion of River Road between Church Street and Highway 54 in Garyville will be westbound traffic only. That’s from 6 to 9 p.m.
In St. James Parish, River Road will be westbound traffic only from Highway 3213 to Highway 642. That’s from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.