Iowa water safe; Use care with generators

By Jamie Gates
American Press

Iowa Mayor Margo Racca reassured residents of her area that the water is safe to drink.

For Iowa residents wanting to evacuate, buses are at Market Basket to shuttle them to the Lake Charles Civic Center for evacuation.

Lake Charles Fire Chief David Manuel is urging citizens of Southwest Louisiana to be careful when using generators. They are not to be used indoors as that would cause death by carbon monoxide poisioning.

"People don't realize that when they wire the generators into their circuit boxes that they are causing a backfeed into already downed power lines which is causing fires," Manuel said. "If someone accidentally touches one of these lines, not knowing that it's live, they can be electrocuted." He stated that he understands people needing generators but that they are really compounding the problem.