Leslie Turk

Smoke-filled courthouse shut down till 1 p.m.

by Leslie Turk

A small fire in the basement of the Lafayette Parish Courthouse caused smoke to fill the first and second floors and forced an evacuation of the facility.

The problem was with a transfer switch that has since been fixed. 'Everything is OK now," Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Louis Perret says, noting the courthouse will reopen at 1 p.m. today.