Itโs been two years since the historic Tiger Island Fire in Beauregard Parish. The fire, which began Aug. 22, 2023, was the largest in Louisiana history.
That summer was extremely dry in Louisiana, leading to multiple forest fires and a statewide burn ban. The Tiger Island Fire grew in size to 33,000 acres.
The Beauregard Museum will be hosting an exhibit about the fire Sept. 27-Oct. 25. The exhibit will feature art by Tony McDonald and photography by Rickie Smith. The reception will also feature videos of local firefighters and officials giving their own stories of the historical event.
Beauregard Museum Director Elona Weston said she hopes the community โ especially firefighters โ attend the opening reception. Admission is free. The opening reception for the exhibit will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. The reception will also have Ron Yule, a local musician and fiddler playing a song he wrote for the Tiger Island Fire.
A local poet who will recite a poem she wrote on the fire and McDonald and Smith will speak at the event. Retired Fire Chief from Fort Polk and Chaplain Michael Kuk will also be at the reception for a prayer.
โIn a lot of ways it was traumatic for our community โ it was dangerous beyond what people even understand,โ Weston said. Weston said she feels the exhibit is important due to the fires being such a big event in the community and something people still talk about to this day.
Sheriff Mark Herford said the Tiger Island Fire was intentionally set by arson. Herford said due to the size and the amount of devastation the fire brought onto the parish, this exhibit is a good way to remember it and to recognize the firefighters and all the people who did what they could do to help at the time. โWe have not been able to identify the person who started it,โ Herford said.
โDuring the height of that we were dealing with โ 8 to 10 fires a day โ the Tiger Island Fire was the largest and the hardest to deal with because of the wind shifting and it being so dry. At the time I was speaking to the governor and he told me it was the largest recorded fire in Louisiana.โ
Beauregard Parish lost 29 structures including some homes, according to Herford, but luckily had zero fatalities from the fires.
