By Colin Vedros
KALB-TV 5
It was a once-in-a-lifetime event for many across Central Louisiana and beyond as wildfires and drought destroyed over 60,000 acres of trees, drying up land in the summer and fall months of 2023 and costing the state $71 million in timber loss.
Dr. Mike Strain, the commissioner of Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry, shared, “We have about 18.6 million acres total of timber. That’s 15 million acres of farm timber as well. It’s about 3.6 million acres of bottomlands and hardwoods. So, if you look at 85% of Louisiana, it is in timber or row crop type agriculture or aquaculture.”