Livingston Parish firefighters are responding to a fire at Live Oak Junior High in Watson, Superintendent Joe Murphy confirmed.
Photographs of the fire on social media show dark clouds of smoke rising hundreds of feet above the school’s gymnasium near the front of campus.
Live Oak Junior High officials also confirmed news of the fire in a Facebook post, saying the school will remain closed until further notice.
“Please pray for our school,” the post read. “As many know by now, our front gym is on fire and firefighters are working hard to put it out.
“Please stay away and let the workers do their job. The school will remain closed from now on until further notice from officials. We will post when we have more details.”
The fire broke out on Friday morning, although its cause has not yet been revealed. Officials with Livingston Parish Fire Protection District 4 said they are working with Livingston Parish Fire Protection Districts 2 and 5, Central Fire, Pine Grove Fire and Eastside Fire to battle the blaze.
At 11:45 a.m., no injuries had been reported.
Fire officials also said residents in the area “may experience low water pressure and possibly discolored water due to the amount of stress in the water system at this time.”
It is also unknown how many people were on campus. Livingston Parish teachers are scheduled to return from summer vacation on August 4, while students return on August 9.
Live Oak Junior High replaced the vacant Live Oak High campus on Old Highway 16 at the start of the 2017-18 school year, the result of a $5.5 million renovation project.
Before that, the campus had been unused since December 2012, when Live Oak High’s new campus opened in La. Hwy. 16.
*This story will be updated.
