PRAIRIEVILLE – Residents at the end of Terraceside Drive were evacuated for a part of Sunday, then allowed to return home as firefighters worked a fire burning in a wooded area behind their neighborhood.
The Galvez Fire Department, Ascension Parish Fire Department, Prairieville Fire Department and the Department of Public Works were all out along Highway 42 in Prairieville fighting the fire.
Galvez firefighters said the fire along Highway 42 has consumed more than 150 acres and crews have been trying to contain and extinguish flames for more than a week.
Around 6:15 p.m., Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment declared a state of emergency for the area. Banquet Hall at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center was opened for residents needing a place to go.
One block — Pineside Ave. — was put under mandatory evacuation briefly, but everyone was permitted to return by nightfall.
Officials told WBRZ that crews would remain on scene overnight.
“It came closer today than any other day,” Ascension Parish Fire Chief James LeBlanc said. “We got right at 8 to 10 fire departments out here right now… doing a fire watch throughout the night to make sure the fire doesn’t impede on these residents’ homes.”
No one was injured by the fire.
A fire that has been burning for more than a week near Hwy 42 in Prairieville was being monitored — but still a concern — as of Sunday night. An earlier flare-up prompted a brief evacuation of some nearby homes.
