Controlled Fire will Tame the Prairie at Newport Chemical Depot

State forestry officials will conduct a controlled burn of prairie grass at the Newport Chemical Depot in western Indiana, where 275,000 gallons of deadly nerve agent was destroyed under an international treaty.

The Indiana Division of Forestry will burn about 336 acres of native prairie grass Friday or Saturday, depending on the weather, at the depot about 20 miles north of Terre Haute. The agency is also holding workshops on fire management. Officials say the controlled burns create habitats attractive to wildlife. The Depot has maintained the prairie for the past 15 years.

Destruction of the VX nerve agent stored at Newport was completed last August.