A man who was accused of the illegal seizure of livestock animals in Rosepine has also been accused in a scam.

The Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office said a man named Toney Wade, who claimed to be an Animal Cruelty Investigator for Cajun Coast Search and Rescue, was soliciting donations via PayPal and Amazon during the initial days of the wildfires.

Louisiana is extending its statewide burn ban one more week, but officials are working on a plan that may lift the prohibition in some areas late next week where moisture levels are the highest and the wildfire threats have diminished, Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said.

Louisiana, typically one of the wettest states in the country, is on fire.

In communities often challenged by flooding and hurricanes this time of year, firefighters instead are fending off 300-foot-tall (91.44 meters) blazes during an unprecedented wildfire season, which isn't even halfway over. Stoked by record-breaking heat, drought and plentiful dry vegetation to fuel the flames, more than 550 fires — in August alone — ravaged tens of thousands of acres of Louisiana land, engulfed homes and forced entire towns to evacuate.

Time is running out to get a new farm bill written and passed by the end of the year. With only 11 working days left to get it written and passed before current legislation runs out, Congress is also in disagreement with how long it will take to get a new farm bill finished, which is why one ag economist fears it could take two years.

A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies are reducing their loads just as Midwest farmers are preparing to harvest crops and send tons of corn and soybeans downriver to the Gulf of Mexico.

The transport restrictions are a headache for barge companies, but even more worrisome for thousands of farmers who have watched drought scorch their fields for much of the summer. Now they will face higher prices to transport what remains of their crops.

St. Louis regional ports and the St. Louis Regional Freightway are jointly supporting the Port of New Orleans’ (Port NOLA) efforts to strengthen the flow of inland river cargo with the development of the Louisiana International Terminal (LIT). The LIT is a new container terminal project on the Gulf Coast that will benefit not only residents and businesses in south Louisiana, but also advanced manufacturing operations, agribusinesses and farmers, as well as other port operations throughout the Southeast and Midwest regions. Port NOLA's new $1.8 billion state-of-the art container terminal will eliminate air-draft restrictions that limit the size of vessels that can currently call on the Port NOLA, allowing it to serve vessels of all sizes and dramatically increasing Louisiana’s import and export capacity while fostering strategic inland growth.