Indiana state and county officials are attempting to keep fires under control and water levels safe because of a multi-county drought, Assistant State Fire Coordinator Drew Daily said. \nThe dry conditions have increased the number of fires throughout the state, Daily said, and officials are concerned that the severity of the fires could also increase. \nAs a result, eight Indiana counties have mandated fire bans, which prevent people from having open fires. While Monroe County has not enacted a ban, officials are monitoring fire conditions and water levels in case conditions worsen, Daily said.\nCounty Commissioners could not be reached for comment on whether they would enact a fire ban. \n“Fire occurrence is up right now,” Daily said. “We’re coming into that time of the year when we typically pick up more fires because of people being outdoors and just doing what people do.”\nSporadic rains, such as the rainfall that occurred Sept. 6-9, subsides fire danger for a few days, Daily said. However, the rain does not decrease the danger of fire over the long term. \nThe dry conditions have caused fires to be more intense and to burn for a longer amount of time. Daily said this causes damage to both timber and agricultural resources.\nHe said fires are more likely to increase because the southern parts of the state, including Bloomington, are at extreme drought levels.
The drought has caused the Monroe Reservoir to lower two-and-a-half feet below the normal level. He said intense rainfall over an extended period of time is needed to help end the drought. \n“At this time, for the drought to end by the end of September, we would require, at a minimum, at least 200 percent of normal precipitation,” Daily said. “In some areas it could be as high as 400 percent of normal precipitation.”\nAlthough there has been a lack of rainfall, Monroe County and Bloomington are not yet considering limiting water consumption, said Dave Cable, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park manager, who monitors the reservoir . \nCable said the main impact has been on recreational users of the Monroe Reservoir. Boating ramps are often hazardous. Tree stumps in the water also create potential danger for boat users.\nDespite this, the Monroe Reservoir can still provide enough water for the county. \nCable said Monroe Reservoir has enough water for Bloomington’s residential use, Cable said.\n“It’s not the limits on the lake because there’s plenty of water in the lake,” Cable said. “Bloomington pulls somewhere between 16 to 20 million gallons a day. Generally, their limit is (indicated) basically (by) what they can pump, more so than what we can give them.”\nWhile severe droughts are not frequent, they do happen once a decade. Phil Wagner, assistant state forester for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said they happen about every 10 or 11 years. \nHe said this year’s drought is worse than the one that occurred in 1999 when Monroe County Commissioners enacted a fire ban. \nA fire ban may still be enacted for Monroe County as it gets closer to fall. Both Monroe County and state officials will remain cautious as the drought continues, Wagner said.\n“The long term weather forecast is calling for normal to slightly below normal precipitation for the next 30 to 90 days,” he said. “So if that stays in effect then precautions can be in effect for quite some time.”
