INDIANAPOLIS — Clinton County on Tuesday, Sept. 7 became the latest to enact a countywide burn ban, joining nearby counties including Wabash, Fulton, Madison, Carroll, White, Cass and Miami.
The restrictions come as drought conditions deepen across the region, raising fire risks and delaying the onset of fall foliage.
Most of central and northern Indiana remains in “moderate drought,” while portions of DeKalb, Adams, Allen, Jay, Randolph, Huntington, Wells, Blackford, Wabash, Grant, Miami, Howard, Tipton, Clinton, Carroll, Cass, White, Vermillion and Parke counties are experiencing “severe drought,” the U.S. Drought Monitor states. Portions of Allen, Adams, Carroll, Cass, Howard and Miami counties are even drier, in an “exceptional drought” — the most severe condition.
The lack of rainfall and unseasonably warm temperatures have also slowed the annual transformation of Indiana’s trees. State naturalists say that the continued dryness could shorten the duration of fall colors once they appear. Warm weather delays the chemical changes in leaves, while dry conditions cause them to brown and fall more quickly…