Fire scorches Wetland Watchers Park

Boardwalk, outdoor classroom spared

A fire that most likely started from a lit cigarette burned a couple acres of wetlands and came close to bringing down a new outdoor classroom and boardwalk at Wetland Watchers Park in Norco on Monday evening.

Bruce McDonald and Scott Schexnaydre were the first people on the scene of the blaze after the two heard a loud pop at around 6 p.m. while talking with fishermen at the man-made peninsula in the Bonnet Carre Spillway. The peninsula, a popular fishing spot, is near the park. Soon after hearing what sounded like a tire blowout, McDonald and Schexnaydre noticed fire coming from the direction of Interstate 10.

“The fire looked like it was heading for the new construction at Wetland Watchers Park,” McDonald said. “We headed towards the new outdoor classroom and boardwalk, and when we reached the boardwalk, the fire was only inches away from igniting it.”

McDonald and Schexnaydre began to stomp out the fire near the boardwalk and McDonald called 911. The Norco Fire Department, along with wetland activist Milton Cambre, soon arrived.

“I had just left the area about an hour before the fire started,” Cambre said. “Luckily, Bruce and Scott were there at the time, because if the fire would have ignited the boardwalk, the outdoor classroom could have been set on fire as well.”

Cambre said that it seems a cigarette tossed from a vehicle on the interstate happened to land in the middle of dry roseau cane. The cane was immediately consumed and the fire spread over a couple of acres of wetlands, stopping just before the boardwalk and outdoor classroom.

In fact, the fire was so close to the outdoor classroom that Schexnaydre was shocked that it didn’t go up in flames.
“It was a yard away,” he said. “How it didn’t burn, I can’t figure out.”

Firefighters managed to put out the blaze by spraying it down with water from the interstate, but Cambre said that additional steps may need to be taken in the future to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

Those options could include installing a hydrant nearby and supplying it with lake water, or putting some type of flame retardant material near the boardwalk, Cambre said.

“We might also have to do something about the roseau cane, because it grows anywhere from 8 to 10 feet tall and can get very dry,” he added.

Next week, 125 students from New York and 25 students from J.B. Martin are visiting the outdoor classroom, which was built using a donation from Dow. On April 29, singer Amanda Shaw is scheduled to put on a performance at the park as part of the Wetland Watchers’ annual celebration.

“If the boardwalk and outdoor classroom would have caught fire it would have been a catastrophe,” Cambre said. “We still would have been able to take the students to other areas of the park, but it would have dampened the enthusiasm of everyone.”