PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A stubborn marsh fire that has been burning in South Jefferson County for two weeks or more caused lots of problems over the last few days when the weather changed and kept the smoke hanging around low to the ground throughout the mornings.
The fire is burning deep in the marsh west of Port Arthur and south of Texas Highway 73 and has been burning since at least October 9, 2023.
For the most part the fire has just been putting up a steady plume of gray smoke into the hazy skyline visible throughout much of Southeast Texas.
Through most of the month there's been enough wind to mix the smoke into the air keeping the skies clear leaving just a plume of smoke visible right above the fire.
That is except on October 10, when there was only a light wind that allowed a haze and the acrid smell of smoke in the air to blow north across much of Jefferson County.
The smell of the smoke and the haze may have bothered some people but it didn't cause major issues at that time.
But last week, on Thursday, October 19, 2023, things changed.
On Thursday morning the "perfect storm" of weather factors came together to keep a layer of smoke and fog hugging the ground and floating across Texas Highway 73.
Drivers along Texas 73 near Port Acres found themselves driving into a cloud of smoke and fog with low to zero visibility.
It happened again on Friday morning and visibility was so low that by 8:30 a.m. the Texas Department of Transportation's Beaumont District had shut down the highway in both directions following several accidents.
The marsh fire, which had been burning for over a week at least by Friday, was deep in the marsh and officials weren't even sure whose property was burning Port Arthur fire chief Doug Benson told 12News at the time.
The smoke was blowing across the highway and the morning fog was helping it stay very low to the ground Port Arthur fire chief Doug Benson told 12News on Friday.
But that wasn't all to the science of what was happening 12News meteorologists Jeff Gerber and Jeremiah Stewart now say.
That "perfect storm" of factors also included the smoke, fog and lack of wind as well as "temperature inversion."
"Temperature inversion" results when there's warmer air above cooler air acting as a lid to prevent vertical movement into the upper atmosphere according to the meteorologists.
On the ground, the dew point temperature was the same as the air temperature causing fog which mixed with the smoke that was being held down low to the ground by the "temperature inversion."
"One kilometer up into the sky those temperatures are in the 80's. So that is saying temperatures at the surface are cooler than what they are a little bit further aloft into the atmosphere. Whenever that happens it causes pollutants to be trapped on the surface," said Stewart.
The lack of wind just kept the smoke and fog hugging the ground as it floated across the highway hindering visibility even hours after sunrise.
On Saturday morning, October 21, there were multiple wrecks along Texas 73 and TxDOT closed the highway from LaBelle Rd to West Port Arthur Rd at about 6:30 a.m.
By 7 a.m. the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office made a Facebook post saying they, Texas DPS, Port Arthur police and firefighters and Acadian EMS were all responding to multiple wrecks in the fog.
Officials with Port Arthur Fire, Texas A&M Forest Services, Jefferson County Sheriffs and emergency management boarded a helicopter Monday to get a visual of this problematic marsh fire.
"From that we just initiated, a wildfire initiative from down in Sabine Pass, it includes Port Arthur Fire, ESD #4, and Hamshire Volunteer Fire," Benson said.
Chief Benson said nearly five acres have burned so far. But the vantage point in the sky has given them crucial information to help them decide how to move forward.
"We have been able to see some new vantage points from being up on the helicopter. And see a road that we can access. Not a regular fire truck, but probably Hamshire's brush truck," he said.
Heavy smoke, fog result in multiple wrecks along Texas 73 Saturday morning
The sheriff's office asked drivers stuck in the fog to stay in their vehicles and turn on their hazard flashers saying firefighters and EMS were getting to the injured as quick as possible.
TxDOT announced the closing of the highway Saturday night just after 11 p.m. and kept it shut down until after 9: 40 a.m. Sunday morning which seemed to help issues that day.
On Sunday night at about 7 p.m. TxDOT announced the shut down of the highway as a precaution at about 10 p.m. that night.
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The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office noted in a Facebook post just after midnight that the highway had been reopened but officials were monitoring conditions in case it needed to be shutdown again.
Officials with the Hamshire-Fannett school district announced Sunday night after 8 p.m. on Facebook that they would delay the start of school until 10 a.m. Monday morning to keep parents and buses off the road in case the foggy situation developed again.
By 6:30 a.m. Monday, the sheriff's office reported that the highway remained open.
Both Gerber and Stewart agree that we should be free of these factors for now.
Signing up for emergency alerts from the Southeast Texas Alerting Network, also known as "the STAN," is a good way stay aware when situations like this develop.
The STAN recently upgraded their system and EVERYONE who registered prior to September 2023 must go back and re-register for the alerting system.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.