Super fog blankets New Orleans again, as damp fires and smoke close interstate after deadly crash

Police say dense smoke reminiscent of last month’s so-called “super fog” that rolled into Louisiana has led to a deadly accident that shut down Interstate 10 in the New Orleans area

Louisiana Super Fog Crashes (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Dense smoke reminiscent of last month's “super fog” that rolled into Louisiana has led to a deadly accident that shut down Interstate 10 in the New Orleans area early Tuesday, police said.

The thoroughfare was closed due to smoke, fog and accidents involving multiple vehicles, New Orleans police said in a statement Tuesday morning.

“Multiple people were injured and transported to the hospital,” the agency said after the accident around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Smoke from fires near New Orleans is getting trapped under a very shallow layer of the atmosphere along Interstate 10 in eastern Orleans Parish, the National Weather Service said in a memo early Tuesday. As a result, motorists could see a quarter-mile or less, the weather service said.

The weather service issued a dense smoke advisory. The thick smoke also reduced visibility along Interstate 55 in Louisiana, the weather service said.

Few details were available about the motorist who died Tuesday. Police said it was a man who died after being taken to a hospital.

On Oct. 24, seven motorists died and about two dozen were injured in pileups involving about 160 vehicles on I-55 near New Orleans amid a super fog, which is created by smoke from marsh fires mixed with dense fog.