BATON ROUGE - A heavy, soaking rain this weekend caused state fire authorities to life Louisiana's burn ban on Monday.

The State Fire Marshal's Office and the Department of Agriculture and Forestry agreed the ban should be lifted Monday evening at 6 p.m. after the rains reduced the chance of spreading wildland fires.

State Fire Marshal Butch Browning said the ban went into effect in order to prevent any potential wildfires from getting out of control.

"While our agency responded to numerous calls involving violations of the ban, with several resulting in the issuance of monetary fines, I am appreciative of the fact that the vast majority of citizens heeded the ban and became more fire safety conscious," Browning said.

The ban first went into effect Oct. 16 during an exceptionally dry period for the state.