Drone Video Shows the Extent of Damage to the Vernon Parish Unit of the Kisatchie National Forest

The U.S. Forest Service has conducted drone video surveillance of the Vernon unit of the Kisatchie National Forest, located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, that was severely damaged by Hurricane Laura. Jim Caldwell, public affairs officer for the U.S. Forest Service having reviewed the drone video footage said, “Timber is down everywhere. We have about 70 million dollars’ worth of timber on the ground. It looks like an atomic bomb went off.” The damage is breathtaking. More than 16,000 acres of timber in Vernon Parish was heavily damaged by Hurricane Laura. For now, the Kistachie National Forest is closed through at least Wednesday, September 16th. Once the forest is safe, it will begin reopening and any salvageable timber will be sold, with the money going back to the U.S. Treasury. “We will recover. We’re working on that and our goal is to have all of those sites very soon,” adds Caldwell.