This string of 100-plus degree temps comes right in the middle of the St. Joseph County Fair. And the high temps are proving dangerous for some of the animals. Some members say it's just too hot to keep the animals cool here and so they're bringing their livestock back home. In fact a few 4-H members tell FOX28 that four pigs and a cow have already died.
Fair Director Mark Tingle says says a couple animals die every year, chickens are the most common.
"There have been a couple of animals that have passed due to the heat." Tingle said.
But he says no one has informed him that a cow or some pigs have died this year.
"That's pretty much just the nature of it. They're hot, they get over heated, they could be a little stressed out. I mean it's just hard to say what the actual factor really is." Tingle said.
But some families, like Jennifer Freeman's, say they just can't risk the danger of the heat.
"Currently we have two dairy beef steers and three heifers here. The rest of them we've taken home for the week. At home we have sprinklers and fans and they're just more accustom to that environment, so they do better in this heat." Freeman said.
The Fair Director says that animal owners are welcome to take their animals home at anytime.
