Tuesday, November 7, 2023

USACE aids with NOLA wetland fire

The weeks-long effort to flood out a wetland fire in New Orleans East is getting reinforcements from the Army Corps of Engineers. 

USACE-New Orleans lent five 8-inch portable pumps to help extinguish the smoldering fire that has produced noxious and dense blankets of smoke across the New Orleans area since Oct. 14

The pumps will join at least two others from the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board that have been working pumping water from a drainage canal to the fire site, which covers about 200 acres on private property. 

S&WB has been pumping water since Oct. 19, but complaints about the smoke haven’t abated. New Orleans residents are reporting eye and nose irritation, nausea and respiratory illnesses. 

In late October, the smoke combined with fog created a "super fog" that resulted in a 158-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 55 in Manchac, La., that left seven people dead and dozens injured. (NOLA.com 11/06/23) Army Corps lends pumps to flood out New Orleans swamp fire | Environment | nola.com

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