VERNON WILDFIRES: Urgent evacuations for W. Hawthorne Rd., Ford Stewart Rd., Lake Vernon Rd.

Mandatory evacuation of West Hawthorne Road was issued at 4:54 p.m. Officials urge residents to leave now because the fire is moving south at a high rate of speed.

Mandatory evacuation of Ford Stewart Road and Lake Vernon Road was issued at 4:50 p.m. Officials say to leave now.

A Mandatory Evacuation has been issued for residents on Ronayne Drive, Lions Camp Road and surrounding area roads due to wildfires in the area.

The evacuation on La. 10 has been lifted.

U.S. Highway 171 is closed from Leesville to Anacoco due to wildfires.

VERNON PARISH, La. (KPLC) - Sheriff Sam Craft said Saturday morning that overnight rain had helped the wildfire situation in Vernon Parish.

But, he said, the wildfires were not over.

He was correct, as the fires picked up during the day Saturday, causing more evacuation orders to be issued.

Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft said the rain helped bring under control the fire that started near Ida Bailey Road. The fire near Pitkin is “pretty well contained” and the fire near Evans is mostly out.

Even with the good news, Craft urged residents to remain vigilant and adhere to the state’s burn ban.

“We’ve kind of caught our breath, but I’m gonna be honest, if we don’t get some more rain, with this heat and wind we’ll be right back where we started,” he said. “We have to remain vigilant because this is not over.”

The Ida Bailey fire was the most critical firefighters were handling Friday. It burned south to Graham Road and was threatening structures in the area of La. 10 and U.S. 171.

“We got some rain at the opportune time and the fire was pretty well extinguished,” Craft said.

He said a resident on Graham Road recorded 7/10 of an inch of rain.

There is still a large out-of-town contingent on Graham Road putting out hotspots and watching for new developments.

A fire in the Providence area, northeast of Rosepine, burned 4,500 acres.