By: TONY MARKS
Editor
NANCY DUPLECHAIN
Associate Editor
Just four months after reeling from back-to-back hurricanes that dealt powerful punches, Evangeline Parish was hit by another storm that caused different types of issues from the usual damage. This storm was a major winter event that hit the area over the Mardi Gras holiday.
Liz Hill, director of parish’s 911 and Office of Emergency Preparedness, stated there is no official word on how low the temperatures got but said there were reports in some places across the parish of temperature as low as 10 degrees. Hill also said most of the frozen precipitation was ice with layers of sleet and snow on top.
As for how the storm affected human life, Hill reported there were no deaths or injuries. She said, “I’m happy the residents stayed put as long as they did to prevent excessive accidents and any deaths that could have occurred.
Municipalities in the parish faced similar issues with utilities associated with the aftermath caused by the snow and the ice.
Multiple calls to Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine were not returned, but other mayors in the area described how they made it through the storm.
Mayor Ricky Fontenot of Mamou stated, as of Monday, the town was still under a boil advisory. He went on to say the state’s water testing is a little backed up from the weather, but they should know their results this Wednesday.
“We had a couple of bad breaks, and it was tough to get the water pressure up with everybody using it,” Mayor Fontenot stated. “We’re back with good water pressure. A lot of residents had issues with pipes breaking under their houses. There were a few downed limbs from the ice, but not much. Besides being uncomfortable and being thrown for a loop, we’re doing okay. I will not complain. We’re grateful there were no major problems. There were no deaths or injuries reported.”
Up Highway 13, in Pine Prairie, Mayor Quint West reported the village “made it through relatively well.”
He said the water board and President Todd Welch did a good job of getting prepared for the conditions. As a result, there were no boil advisories in the village. However, like other incorporated areas, the village experienced diminished water pressure.
The extent of the damage, according to Mayor West, was downed limbs across the roadways. “We had a lot of people come out and a lot of limbs that were picked up fairly quickly off the roads,” he said.
Further up Highway 13, in Turkey Creek, Mayor Phillip Cavins reported the weather conditions caused some trees to uproot and caused branches to fall. Some of the branches fell on power lines which knocked down the meter box at a residence. “To my knowledge,” the mayor said, “that’s the extent of the damage.”
The chief problem in the village associated with the wintry mix revolved around pipes freezing and busting at the water well. The village and the surrounding area serviced by the water system also experienced about four days of low water pressure from customers dripping their pipes.
“We average about 207 thousand gallons a day,” said Mayor Cavins. “For three days straight, my well produced 1.3 million gallons. During the storm, we were producing five times our daily average.”
The water system services about 1,800 residences from Bayou Chicot and St. Landry all the way to Johnson’s Landing.
Similar issues with the water well were felt in Chataignier where the well, pumps, and motor were damaged. “We have one motor that’s burnt and another that’s limping along,” said Mayor Justin Darbonne.
Because of the damages to the water system, Mayor Darbonne and Village Administrator Gail McDavid stayed on the roads to work on issues. The mayor said, “It’s hard to work on the water stuff when it’s frozen.”
The village also experienced issues with the electricity, but, as the mayor said, “Cleco kept us moving.”
Effects of the sub-freezing temperatures were also felt by the parish’s agriculture. The following is an update from County Agent Todd Fontenot.
“The immediate impact on crawfish production is they basically become dormant as temperatures drop below 60 degrees. At this point their movement drops and they are not attracted to baits so the catch typically drops. The catch should increase as temperatures warm up. The freezing temperatures do cause freeze damage to the forages in the crawfish ponds. The damage can cause the forage to deteriorate earlier than normal. This can impact the food available for the crawfish later in the season.”
“The freeze has also impacted the livestock here in the parish. Ryegrass, a commonly grown winter forage grass, was severely damaged by the cold temperatures. This causes livestock producers to have feed supplemental feed which can get expensive. Producers also had to feed more to keep their animals warm. There are also reports of calves dying after being born in the frozen conditions. In general the extreme cold conditions are very stressing on livestock.”
“Citrus trees will most likely have damage and some death. Temperatures in the low 20’s for an extended period of time will cause wood damage. Any fruit left on the trees is usually damaged at temps between 26 and 28 degrees.”
“Others crops like rice and soybeans are not planted at this time so there are no impacts. We do have some wheat and sugarcane growing in the parish. The wheat crop did sustain some damage but hopefully it was a growth stage that can best tolerate cold conditions. Sugarcane, being a multi-year or ratooning crop, is not actively growing at this time but its underground plant structures can be damaged by frozen conditions. It is basically a wait and see situation for sugarcane.”
On a lighter side, while the temperatures remained low, the number of gumbos cooked in Chataignier was high. Mayor Darbonne quipped, “It was a lot, bruh. There was a lot of roux and a lot of chickens and sausage that got cooked that week.”