One of the largest wildfires to burn in Louisiana in several years is sweeping through Beauregard Parish near the Texas line. The wildfire had burned through about 12,000 acres by Wednesday morning and is expected to continue north toward the small town of Merryville. Known as the Tiger Island Fire, the blaze is already larger than the statewide annual average of 8,217 acres for the past decade. “The fire is not under control by any means,” Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Shannon Burgess said. “It’s all hands on deck.” Merryville, a town of about 1,000 residents, is under a voluntary evacuation order from the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office. A mandatory evacuation was ordered on Wednesday for the approximately 100 people living on and around Neale Oil Field Road. Ambulances were preparing to evacuate 18 residents from DeRidder Retirement Home to areas in north Louisiana.