By John Summers | WBR Independent | March 7, 2026

PORT ALLEN — A major fire broke out Saturday morning at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, sending a massive column of black smoke visible across both sides of the Mississippi River and prompting a large-scale mutual aid response from fire departments across two parishes.

The fire was reported shortly before 11:31 a.m. on Ernest Wilson Drive at the port's conveyor trestle system, which connects two large warehouses along the riverfront. Flames spread along the trestle and reached the roof of the structure. A second fire ignited on the trestles between the warehouses as the blaze grew.

Authorities confirmed that both warehouses were empty at the time of the fire and that the conveyor system carries wood chips — posing no known hazardous materials threat. Power to the conveyor was cut as crews worked to contain the blaze.

The West Baton Rouge Fire Department called in mutual aid from the Baton Rouge Fire Department as the blaze grew. A critical challenge emerged early — crews had no water supply on the south end of the structure. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office fireboat, deployed on the Mississippi River, provided the water supply that allowed firefighters to mount an effective attack on the blaze. Hazmat units were on scene monitoring air quality throughout the incident.

Union Pacific was contacted and shut down all railroad traffic through the port area to allow firefighters to establish water supply lines across the tracks. Aerial drone support was also deployed to assist incident command with situational awareness.

WBR Independent observed the smoke plume from near the I-10 bridge shortly after noon and was on scene as crews actively attacked the fire.

Traffic on LA-1 backed up significantly during the incident. Authorities asked the public to avoid the area.

The West Baton Rouge Fire Department said a press release with additional information would be forthcoming.

According to Hillary R. "Butch" Browning Jr. of Browning Associates LLC, the private company contracted to serve as the parish's fire chief, as reported by Unfiltered with Kiran, wood chips on the conveyor belt caught fire, causing flames to spread downward onto the belt and the roof of the warehouse below. The rubber on the belt burned, producing the heavy black smoke visible for miles. The warehouse was empty at the time of the fire. The operator of the facility could not be immediately reached for comment. The West Baton Rouge Fire Department confirmed in an afternoon update that no injuries have been reported in connection with the fire.

As operations continued, crews faced an additional challenge — cutting power to the catwalk would have eliminated the water supply to riverside operations. Incident command made the decision to leave power on and keep firefighters away from live electrical infrastructure while the fire was contained.

The U.S. Coast Guard made contact with incident command during the response. Entergy crews were dispatched to the scene for electrical assessment. Drone footage was used to guide roof crews to remaining hot spots.

The fire was declared under control at approximately 1:45 p.m. Crews remained on scene conducting cooldown operations and monitoring for hot spots.

The West Baton Rouge Fire Department confirmed no injuries were reported in connection with the fire. The cause remains under investigation.

Video courtesy of Amy Rothman McNair. Additional photos courtesy of the West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.