Field Fire Forces Evacuations

Proof that conditions are dangerously dry were quite apparent Thursday afternoon.
From the Rushville Republican...
A fire raced through north-central Decatur County and the south-central part of Rush County Thursday afternoon. A call to the Rush County Sheriff’s Department dispatch center reported a field fire south of CR 1100S in Decatur County and east of SR 3 shortly before 1 p.m. Fanned by a 25 mph wind the fire quickly engulfed field stubble from a recently harvest bean crop and moved across CR 1100S and into a recently harvested cornfield, causing alarm in the rural community of Williamstown and its 75 residents. Residents of the small village were asked to evacuate their homes as the fire entered the field surrounding a dozen or so homes and gained momentum.