7 dead, 25 injured in ‘super fog’ multi-car pileup on Louisiana highway: Police

A “tremendous fog” in Louisiana has precipitated a multi-car pileup on Interstate 55 close to New Orleans, Louisiana, after severely decreasing visibility, in keeping with police.

The crash, involving at the least 158 autos, occurred on Monday morning because of heavy fog situations, in keeping with Louisiana State Police. A protracted stretch of Interstate 55, a 24-mile-long freeway over Lake Pontchartrain close to New Orleans, is anticipated to be closed “for the foreseeable future,” police mentioned.

Interstate 10 and Interstate 310 have been additionally closed because of the crash, police mentioned. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards confirmed the accident in a press release Monday. Seven fatalities have been confirmed and over 25 people have been transported to space hospitals with various levels of accidents from vital to minor, in keeping with Louisiana State Police.

Further fatalities might be situated as soon as the crash scene is accomplished cleared, police mentioned.

For hours after the crash, emergency crews labored to clear particles from each northbound and southbound lanes, in keeping with state police. A portion of the crash scene on I-55 caught on hearth shortly after the preliminary incident, authorities mentioned.

The tremendous fog was brought on by smoke from marsh fires burning within the area mixed with dense fog creating within the space early Monday morning bringing extraordinarily low visibility. In some spots, visibility was close to zero, creating harmful driving situations.

Tremendous fogs sometimes kind when condensed water vapor mixes with the smoke and moisture launched from damp natural materials smoldering from a close-by hearth, equivalent to brush, leaves and bushes, in keeping with the Nationwide Climate Service. Visibility might be lowered to lower than 10 ft in consequence, in keeping with the NWS.

This has been occurring within the area over the previous a number of mornings, with the situation of the densest fog and most harmful situations various everyday, forecasts present.

Tremendous fogs might be particularly harmful once they develop close to and over highways. The localized nature of the climate phenomenon signifies that visibility situations can worsen quickly inside a really quick distance, which might result in a hazardous mixture of sudden low to near-zero visibility and autos touring at a excessive velocity on a freeway.

The very restricted visibility then hinders a driver’s capacity to react to altering situations on a roadway.

The Nationwide Climate Service issued a dense fog advisory for a lot of southeastern Louisiana on Monday morning, together with from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

Over the previous a number of days, the Nationwide Climate Service has been warning of the specter of dense fog throughout the early mornings within the area that will be worsened in some areas by close by marsh fires. State police suggested drivers to make use of their low-beam headlights if they cannot see at the least 500 ft in entrance of them.

The fog dissipated by mid Monday morning, and all fog alerts have since been canceled.

Whereas areas of smoke will proceed to be doable within the space as varied marsh fires proceed to burn, fog just isn’t forecast to be a significant concern Monday night time, as climate situations will likely be much less favorable for fog improvement.

Morning fog just isn’t unusual this time of the yr for the area, however greater than 86% of the state is at the moment battling excessive drought situations, which is elevating hearth hazard. This might imply extra cases of tremendous fog within the coming days and weeks as cooler temperatures settle in, however the drought and wildfire threat persist.

As well as, devastating drought and wildfire situations proceed to impression Louisiana. Greater than 60% of the state is now categorized at distinctive drought, the very best class of concern, in keeping with the U.S. Drought Monitor. Simply three months in the past, 0% of the state was listed underneath distinctive drought.

“The mixture of wildfire smoke and dense fog is harmful, and I need to encourage all Louisianans in affected areas to take excessive warning when touring,” Edwards mentioned in a press release.

State troopers are working to inform households and examine the precise explanation for the crash, in keeping with state police.

The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Workplace directed media requests to Louisiana State Police.

Further info was not instantly accessible. Louisiana State Police didn’t instantly reply to ABC Information’ request for remark.