Firefighters battle Big Branch marsh fires once again

By Anne Lautzenheiser and Erik Sanzenbach
St. Tammany News
Published on Friday, July 24, 2009 8:52 AM CDT

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A fire in the Big Branch Marsh that started July 3 and was put under control by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services flared up again Tuesday just south of the Palm Lake subdivision, according to Dave DeMeyer of the Fire Management division of Fish and Wildlife.

Firefighters suspect the original fire was started by lightning on July 3, and spread, eventually burning 140 acres of marshland, before it was brought under control on July 5 when a torrential downpour finally extinguished most of the fire.

Before the rain, fire crews dug fire lines, and helicopters dumped hundreds of gallons of water on the blaze.

The current flare-up only burned two to three acres before fire crews from Big Branch Marsh and Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuges were able to bring it under control. DeMeyer said the fire is now contained, but Slidell residents will see some smoke in the air as the fire smolders and burns itself out. DeMeyer said there is no danger to any residences or people.

The original fire occurred when daily temperatures were in the high nineties. As a result the firefighters dubbed the original July 3 wildfire the One Ten Fire because fire crews said fighting the blaze felt like it was 110 degrees.

Though the fire was thought to have originally started by lightning, the cause is still under investigation, according to DeMeyer.

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