Officials say at least 7 dead in massive vehicle crashes in south Louisiana due to ‘superfog’

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apnews.com

At least seven people were killed Monday morning after a “superfog” of smoke from south Louisiana marsh fires and dense fog caused multiple massive car crashes involving a total of 158 vehicles, authorities said.

Twenty-five people were injured and the number of fatalities may increase as first responders continue to clear the crash scenes and search for victims, Louisiana State Police said in a statement Monday evening.

Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a call for blood donors and asked for prayers “for those hurt and killed.”

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The fuck is a “marsh fire”? Aren’t marshes supposed to be wet? How TF does a fucking marsh catch on fire?

Louisianian here. We're seeing a lot of wildfires in marshy areas due to the extreme drought conditions. The marsh grass is really dry and several areas near me have experienced these fires in normally wet areas that would not burn.

Their slow organic decomposition process brings a kind of a non-efficient fuel. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat Thus in swamps fire can linger for a very long time.

Peat has a high carbon content and can burn under low moisture conditions. Once ignited by the presence of a heat source (e.g., a wildfire penetrating the subsurface), it smoulders. These smouldering fires can burn undetected for very long periods of time (months, years, and even centuries) propagating in a creeping fashion through the underground peat layer.

Peat is not commonly found in Louisiana's wetlands.

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