Officials from the National Weather Service met with parish and city leaders today to brief them on current and upcoming weather conditions, said Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator. As of this morning, 8-12 inches of rain had fallen in Caddo Parish with an additional 5-7 inches expected through Thursday.

Between 2 p.m. Tuesday and 2 p.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office answered 25 calls to assist motorists and responded to 85 reports of trees down. Caddo Sheriff’s deputies and Caddo Fire District personnel conducted rescues and evacuations today in the 700 block of Self Road in Belcher (one home, 7 people, six dogs), the 11000 block of Colt Trail in Keithville (five houses, 10 people, five animals, evacs still ongoing),  and the Sherwood Apartments in the 10,000 block of Mansfield Road (two apartments, five people). Additional evacuations involving Greenwood Police took place overnight at the Greenway Apartments in Greenwood.

The Louisiana National Guard has staged boats and high-water vehicles in our area. Caddo Sheriff’s deputies, Caddo Fire Districts, and Shreveport Fire also are using boats and high-water equipment to conduct rescues.

The Red Cross of Northwest Louisiana has opened a reception center in the Brau Building at 805 Brook Hollow Drive in Shreveport for those who need to catch their breath, access information, assess needs, grab a snack, and develop plans. The Cowboy Church has opened a shelter at 9950 Hwy. 80 for those in need in Caddo Parish.

As of 2 p.m. today, road closures in rural Caddo Parish were:

Hwy. 538 @ Crawford

Colquitt @ Twin Bridges

Linwood @ Barron

South Lakeshore east of Bradford

Land Avenue in Oil City

Curly Avenue in Oil City

Keithville-Kingston @ Hilltop

Keithville-Kingston @ Domino

Keithville-Kingston @ Barron

Mansfield @ Barron

I-49 north @ Hwy 530 exit closed

Hosston-Rodessa Road south of Rodessa

Pinehill @ Winchester (power line).

Numerous other roads remain threatened or impacted by high water. Sheriff Prator is urging motorists to use caution and follow all warning signs and barricades.

Inmate workers from the Caddo Correctional Center will be filling sandbags until further notice at the parish and city facilities. Sandbags are available to the public around the clock at the City of Shreveport’s Public Works facility at 3825 Old Mansfield Road and until 10 p.m. at the parish facility at 1701 Monty Street. The parish will reopen at 7 a.m.