Poor air quality from Louisiana wildfires could become more common

An image of a wildfire in Beauregard Parish from drone video taken Saturday. (Louisiana State Police)
An image of a wildfire in Beauregard Parish from drone video taken Saturday. (Louisiana State Police)

Jeff Parker stayed inside his St. Roch home as much as possible the last week of August, as people all around New Orleans reported smelling smoke in the air. Weather forecasts reported that smoke drifted into the city’s atmosphere from southwest Louisiana, where wildfires were scorching parts of Beauregard Parish. Air quality monitors around New Orleans detected levels of air pollution higher than…