Caesars Superdome evacuated after indoor fire early Wednesday morning

A construction fire inside a temporary construction wall in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans caused the arena to be evacuated as fire crews extinguished the flames on Wednesday morning. A tweet from the New Orleans Fire Department at 6:47 a.m. local time called it a one-alarm fire and a “construction fire in the walls.”

A statement from Superdome management regarding the fire, shared by Fletcher Mackel of WDSU, said the fire department quickly neutralized the fire and any threat. It said the fire was first discovered around 5:00 a.m. local time and there were no serious injuries but two employees did get checked out for smoke inhalation.

“The New Orleans Fire Department arrived to eliminate any threat and deemed the building safe for occupancy. The building is open and fully operational for scheduled events. As a precautionary measure, two security workers who were on the scene, are being checked for smoke inhalation. The cause of the incident remains under investigation,” the statement reads.

The Superdome is currently in the midst of a years-long renovation and it appears the fire started around construction materials.

The New Orleans Saints, which plays home games at the Superdome, isn’t scheduled for a home game this weekend but will be returning for the NFL regular season finale on Jan. 8, 2023.

Prior to that, though, the Superdome is slated to host the Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Kansas State on Saturday at 11 a.m. local time.

Clearly the fire on Wednesday morning didn’t create any long-term issues, despite smoke reportedly making it to the playing field area.

The Crimson Tide held a bowl practice on the field in the Superdome on Wednesday afternoon — though they did their best to shield the action from reporters for a period.

This isn’t the first time in recent memory that a blaze has broken out in the Superdome, as a pressure washer caught fire in September 2021 as crews worked on the roof.