Evacuees Return Home Only for Minutes

[NewsCopy]

The St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office has suspended escorting residents into their homes.

Early Monday afternoon, residents were allowed to go home for less than 10 minutes to pick up prescription medications, pets, and clothes.

Not going home wasn't an option for the Wiltz family. Like many, they had only minutes to leave home Sunday night.

"I was hoping it wasn't that serious and we wouldn't have to stay overnight," said Paige Wiltz.

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

Lawtell residents evacuated because of a train derailment have filled up the Evangeline Downs Hotel and Comfort Inn in Opelousas, says Union Pacific spokeswoman Raquelle Espinoza.

Two more hotels have been added, and the number of sheltered evacuees has grown from 150 but Espinoza says they do not have an exact count yet.

The rest of the story