The fire at a natural gas well in Arnaudville extinguished naturally late Thursday, but officials say the danger remains and the fire could reignite at any moment without warning.
Trooper Derek Senegal, spokesperson for Louisiana State Police Troop D, said the fire extinguished after debris and dirt underground caved in on the area where gas was escaping from a pipeline.
"A lot of times in a situation like this it caves in on itself and it just pretty much blocks the product from escaping that area," Senegal said. "But on the other side, that doesn't mean that everything's good. That gas and the pressure is still looking for a place to come out, so at any moment or any given time it can erupt again without warning."
The fire started around 11 a.m. Wednesday at a well near Joe Kidder and Lee Roy Bourque roads. A voluntary evacuation order remains in place for those who live within a half-mile radius of the area.
The well is owned by The Termo Company, a St. Martin Parish-based oil and gas business, and Precision Drilling was working on the well at the time of the fire, Senegal said.
Heavy machinery arrived Thursday and Friday as work began to repair the pipeline.
"They can't predict when it will be resolved, and they can't say when it blew out," Senegal said. "Natural gas was coming out, so some way or another during that time, the gases ignited and caused the fire. Things are still unknown, and they have to be extra cautious now because of the way it is right now. It's just one of those things that we'll have to be super cautious and just treat this thing like it's still on fire."
No injuries had been reported as of Friday afternoon.
There are about 10 households in the voluntary evacuation zone. Only two households had evacuated as of Friday afternoon, Senegal said.
Air quality monitoring is taking place near the well fire and at different points within 1 square mile of the well, he said.
Louisiana State Police's emergency services unit, the Lafayette Fire Department's HAZMAT division and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality remained on the scene as of Friday afternoon. State Police is leading the investigation.