Traditionally this is done to help light Santa's way

Sometimes Christmas comes early, I guess.

A black-stained patch of marsh grass in Cox Bay, just east of Port Sulphur in Plaquemines Parish, will be put to the torch Wednesday to remove about 1,000 gallons of crude oil spilled there last week when a Time Energy oil well flowline sprang a leak, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Tuesday.

The in-situ burn is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., weather permitting, and is expected to last until 4 p.m. The burn is tentatively scheduled for Thursday if weather conditions don't allow it Wednesday.

One hopes that "weather conditions" involve  taking into account which way the wind is blowing.  Nobody wants to breathe that shit.  Although, at this point, how would we know the difference between a plume of black smoke and a regular day?