According to several Acadiana fire departments, there have been a total of 26 grass fires since October 1, 2022.
In the last 2 months there have been a total of 1 to 2 inches of rain causing vegetation to become dry.
Many Acadiana parishes are under a burn ban with Scott being the most recent to enforce one.
The recent weather conditions has dried out the brush, creating the perfect recipe for an increased risk of grass fires.
Chad Sonnier Scott Fire Chief said, "It's very dangerous, it may look like it's not intimidating and not big at all but what happens is, the wind shift or a wind gust can pick it up and we actually had somebody receive second degree burns to his leg trying to extinguish a fire over the weekend."
Many fire departments across the area have observed a significant increase in grass fires in the past few weeks.
According to The National Fire Prevention Association, when the conditions are right, grass fires can travel up to 15 miles per hour and pulse even faster over short distances.
Chad Sonnier, Scott Fire Chief said, "Well what happens is, people might they may burn a small fire and think it's out and in all actuality it's not and later on they go to bed a gust of wind comes and an ember flies up and starts something else on fire and the fire travels to the next door neighbors either woods or home and catches that on fire and you're liable so we just want people to be cognitive of that."
Although grass fires may not appear overly dangerous, they are unpredictable, produce a lot of smoke and spread quickly, potentially destroying homes, crops and livelihoods if not brought under control in a timely matter.
