BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry and other state officials said Wednesday the end of Louisiana's current weather woes is near, after communities statewide dealt with a deep freeze and some received several inches of snow.

Landry, speaking at news conference with officials from the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, asked the state's citizens to wait the snow out one more day.

Landry's updates were largely similar to statements he made during a Tuesday news conference, reminding residents that the biggest threats to public safety during the freeze are fires caused by improper use of heaters, and the extremely cold temperatures that will likely dip into the teens through Thursday night.

The governor said two people were dead from fire, but didn't say whether they were at the same location or if there were separate tragedies. He said the State Fire Marshal's Office would share information soon.

State Climatologist Jay Grymes said that people need to be ready for bitter cold into the start of the weekend. At Baton Rouge, Tuesday's brought the biggest snowstorm in 130 years. That contributed to Wednesday's low dropping to 7 degrees, the second-lowest ever recorded in the city. The record low is 2 degrees in 1899 — 126 years ago.

"This is the most significant winter storm in south Louisiana," Grymes said, adding that Wednesday and Thursday's temperatures may also set records for the day. 

DOTD head Joe Donahue said all of the state's priority routes are cleared except a section of Interstate 10 near Lake Charles. He added that the state will soon begin treatment efforts from east-to-west on non-priority routes. 

State Police Superintendent Robert Hodges added that, while routes are beginning to clear, it is important to avoid unnecessary travel, noting it is everyone's responsibility to maintain public safety. Hodges said his troopers have responded to 100 calls, but all have been minor injuries and no fatalities have been reported.

Landry ended the news conference by praising the efforts of Arkansas' emergency preparedness department, which helped supply Louisiana with adequate equipment to clear and treat roads in the snowstorm. 

"(We're) making tremendous progress," said Landry, who left inauguration festivities in Washington early to tend to the winter weather.