BATON ROUGE - A state-wide burn ban was issued for Louisiana, two days after a ten-acre grass fire was sparked by a hot exhaust from a stuck pickup.

"Due to the extremely dry conditions statewide and the overwhelming emergency responses recorded by local fire officials, State Fire Marshal Butch Browning, along with Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, have issued a statewide cease and desist order for all private burning," the Fire Marshal's office said Monday.

Private burning shall only be allowed by permission of the local fire department or local government.

This order is effective as of 8:00 a.m., February 15, 2022, and shall remain in effect until rescinded.  

This ban shall not apply to prescribed burns by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, by those trained and certified by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, or by those who conduct prescribed burning as a “generally accepted agriculture practice” as defined by the Louisiana Right to Farm Law.

The burn ban comes as WBRZ Storm Station meteorologists are watching a possibility for severe weather later in the week. Click HERE for the WBRZ weather page. Watch WBRZ newscasts for the latest forecast.

Firefighters said the grass fire in Livingston Parish began after a pickup truck got stuck while spreading grass seeds. The truck's exhaust was hot enough to ignite a fire when it came in contact with grass in the field, firefighters said.

Fire officials said low humidity and strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly, eventually scorching nearly 10 acres of land.

Firefighters from the Springfield-area Livingston Fire Dist. 2 fire department, Ponchatoula, Colyel, Albany, and Fire District 4 worked together to put out the fire.