The six-alarm fire being fought Wednesday morning (Jan. 27) on Canal Street could wind up affecting next months' Mardi Gras parade routes, Louisiana's top fire official said.

"That's being talked about right now," said Butch Browning, the state's Chief Fire Marshal. "Probably by the end of the day, the New Orleans officials working with all the agencies will decide what needs to be done, either to make that building safe or to maintain a safe distance (from parade-goers). I see no problem in getting that issue resolved before Mardi Gras."

The principal danger for revelers would be the possible collapse of the facade of the four-story building at 1018 Canal Street. The building was reported to have caught fire at 3:23 a.m. and forced a response from 31 units and 91 firefighters from the New Orleans Fire Department.

The fire, which spread to an adjacent building on the riverside, is on the Uptown side of Canal Street, the side that floats and marching bands use in some of the biggest Carnival season parades, including Zulu and Endymion. (See full list below the story.)

Some Canal Street business owners already were being advised that the parade could flip to the other side of Canal Street to keep spectators and participants clear of the damaged buildings.

Canal Street fire: NOFD forced outside burning building as collapse threat grows An increasing threat of building collapse has forced firefighters outside the six-alarm fire raging for nearly six hours in the 1000 block of Canal Street.

"With the amount of damage that they have, they're not meant to sustain that and still stand up as a normal building," NOFD Superintendent Tim McConnell said. "Once they have this much compromise to the structure due to fire, collapse is definitely a concern."

City Hall spokesman Hayne Rainey said nothing has been decided yet regarding shifting parade routes away from the crumbling building, "But right now, we're not going to have the public anywhere near it."

Jared Munster, Director of Safety and Permits for the City of New Orleans, said, "We're going to do our very best to make sure that it doesn't impact Mardi Gras. Essentially, that's going to be a call for Homeland Security and fire (officials). But we're going to make sure that the situation stays safe."

Below is a list of all parades this Carnival that plan to use the 1000 block of Canal Street, followed by a list of parades making a U-turn at Canal Street and Roosevelt Way/Burgundy Street, just south of the fire site. The list is based on parade maps released by the city.

Parades using 1000 block of Canal St.

Sat., Feb. 6: Endymion (already on riverbound lanes only).

Mardi Gras, Feb. 9: Zulu, Elks, Crescent City.

Parades making U-turn at Canal and Burgundy

Friday, Jan. 29: Cleopatra, Oshun.

Sat., Jan. 30: Sparta, Pontchartrain, Freret, Choctaw, Pygmalion.

Sun., Jan. 31: Femme Fatale, Carrolton, King Arthur, Alla.

Wed., Feb. 3: Ancient Druids.

Friday, Feb. 5: Hermes, D'Etat.

Sat., Feb. 6: Tucks.

Sunday, Feb. 7: Okeanos, Mid-City, Thoth.