Residents in southern Bossier Parish have been advised to evacuate due to rising flood waters.

Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen and Bossier Parish Administrator Bill Altimus issued an evacuation advisory for an area from Highway 157/154 south to the Loggy Bayou Bridge and west to the Red River.

Residents in this area are advised and strongly recommended to leave their homes as soon as possible and move to higher ground.

"This is not some big wave of water, this is slowly rising water that creeps up into homes and businesses," said Bossier City Fire Chief Sammy Halphen.

Residents were advised of the evacuation advisory at approximately 11:45 a.m. Monday through the First Call automated telephone notification system.

Red Chute Bayou has not crested and officials do not know when it will crest as it continues to rise.

"Those levels are going to approach what they were in 1991, so we recommend people get out while they can," said Butch Ford, Bossier Parish engineer.

"As the waters go south, if you got wet in 1991, you're more than likely going to get wet," said Bossier Parish Sheriff Larry Deen. "If you need help, ask for it, we'll get to you and get you out."

The sheriff's office has set up a mobile command unit in Elm Grove to help identify areas of need and assist in any evacuations. As of Monday evening, approximately 20-50 residents had left the area.

Persons in need of assistance in moving from the area can call the Bossier Office of Emergency Preparedness at 425-5351. The old Parkway High School on Panther Drive in Bossier City is open as Red Cross shelter and available to affected residents who will need a place to stay.

Sandbags are being distributed for south Bossier residents at Elm Grove and Sligo Road and Highway 157.

They can visit the Hydrowatch website to get real time updates of water levels on the area waterways. A map showing these waterways can be found at http//la.water.usgs.gov/rfo/alert/alertmap.asp.

Approximately 2,500 people in north Bossier Parish near the Red Chute Bayou levee in Bossier City were evacuated Sunday as water continued to rise and a breach seemed possible.

Emergency officials worked Saturday and Sunday to fortify weak spots in the bayou fed by the Flat River, and officials said the levee at Dogwood Trail and Stockwell areas are holding steady.  

"We're fighting the good fight, making sure the sandbags are placed where they're supposed to be and staying steady," said Halphen.

Halphen advised residents in north Bossier to avoid going back to their homes even if their neighborhood is dry, saying, "I understand their feelings, but I would not encourage it because the threat still exists."

"We may have a false sense of security with the nice weather, but a catastrophic event is only one breach of the levee away," said Bossier City Mayor Lorenz "Lo" Walker.

Deen asked residents to refrain from touring the damage and flooding.

The city and parish's Night Out scheduled for Tuesday evening has been cancelled because local law enforcement will not be able to participate and blockade streets.

"That's not to say people in their respective communities want to do their thing are encouraged to do it, just do it safely and don't divert our resources from their main effort," said Walker.

Halphen said everyone is doing intensive work and striving to get the best and most up to date information to the public.

"We're going to get it right, we're going to move on from incident to incident and prioritize and hopefully we'll be standing here and saying how it all went," said Halphen.

Deen said the parish and city officials were dedicated to helping residents and thanked Barksdale Air Force Base and Gov. Bobby Jindal for their support.

"I've been impressed with all the agencies pulling together and I can't say enough about all the things that have happened to keep the people safe and their property safe," said Rep. Jane Smith.

Col. Steven Basham, 2d Bomb Wing commander, said that when the call came in to Barksdale for help, "the only answer was yes."

"We'll continue to provide as much assistance as we can when the call comes. Our airmen were very enthusiastic about getting in there and helping out," said Basham.

"I was there early on and I saw all the people of Bossier Parish work together so diligently. I know our citizens have called me and told me they appreciate the Herculean effort these people have done on their behalf," said Rep. Henry Burns.

This flooding was spawned by days of heavy rain and a downpour from a series of severe weather systems with strong winds, heavy rains and tornadoes that passed through the north and west part of the state Thursday causing flooding into Friday and severely damaging homes in Bossier and Caddo Parishes.

Greenacres is still closed to non-residents as clean up continues from the storm.

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