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Ask anybody at the Morgan County Fair how the fair was going as of Wednesday, and the answer was the same: hot.

In fact, the heat index reached as high as 109 degrees, forcing some two dozen fair patrons to be treated for heat exhaustion — despite fair officials’ attempt to keep water accessible.

“This heat has been taxing on everybody,” Mark Stahl, fair president, said in the afternoon.

He said fair officials made an effort to keep plenty of water around for those in attendance. Also, emergency officials at the fair were asked to keep their eyes open for patrons showing signs of heat exhaustion, Stahl said.

The high temperatures and humidity had a detrimental effect on some fair events. During Wednesday’s Rabbit Round-up, officials drew names to pair children with their bunnies, Stahl said. Typically, the children catch their rabbit of choice, but the fair president said officials didn’t want to further stress the children or animals.

Those attending grills at the various food stands had no choice but to brave the heat. Dave Arnold of the Martinsville Noon Lions Club had only worked the Morgan County Pork Producers stand for 30 minutes and had a wet towel wrapped around his neck.

“I was sweating like nobody’s business,” he said. “When you volunteer a month in advance, you never know what the weather is going to be like.”

However, despite the heat, the fair has had pretty good attendance, Stahl said. Although admission for events at the grandstands has been down due to the high temperatures, he said he expected Wednesday’s go-kart races to be well-attended.

Today, the grandstands will feature the 4-H Calf Round-up, a free event at 8 p.m., and the Heavy Horse Pulls at 9 p.m. The Demolition Derby will be on Friday, and Stahl is anticipating a large crowd for that event.

“We’ve got loyal demo fans,” he said.

Meteorologists are predicting the temperatures will subside during the next few days. According to the National Weather Service, the high will be near 90 today, 87 Friday and 87 Saturday. Temperatures reached 97 degrees Wednesday, and the NWS issued a heat advisory for several Indiana counties, including Morgan.

There’s also a chance of thunderstorms today, but they are not expected to be severe.

“We’ve been lucky on that aspect of it,” Stahl said of the absence of rain this week.