BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Due to wildfires, the Baton Rouge Fire Department is reminding everyone that this Labor Day weekend will be different.
With the increase of wildfires in the state, the Baton Rouge Fire Department is emphasizing residents to not cook anything in the grill outside.
The state is still under a burn ban and continues to have wildfires. Governor Edwards earlier this week spread a message asking everyone to not barbeque this weekend.
Fire officials say there could be consequences if your grilling leads to a wildfire.
Baton Rouge Fire Department public information officer, Justin Hill, says fines can be up to $500 dollars and jail time.
“With the dry conditions, the governor is asking everybody to please not cook outdoors, don’t burn anything. And the reason being is those small embers that can be generated due to your cooking, can travel very far and it can spark a fire,” he said. “If the fire department is called out to your residence or where you’re at because of a fire that you caused due to cooking or something like that, you can be cited.”
Hill also reminds residents with tips that can help reduce wildfires, like keeping in mind to not park vehicles on top of high and dry grass.
He also suggests other alternatives when tailgating instead of barbecuing outside.
“It could be things like going to a restaurant and bringing that food with you, preparing food at home and bringing it to where you’re going to be tailgating it,” he said. “And with the temperatures being as hot as they’ve been, you know, maybe just thinking about cold options, something that you can keep in a cooler and enjoy without having to add heat to it. You know, things like salads, fruits, things like that, sandwiches.”
