Fires Damage Homes, Businesses; No Injuries Reported

A fire broke out in downtown Batesville as a large Halloween trick-or-treating event was winding down; no injuries were reported, and officials are assessing damage to affected businesses, while the Melba Theater and Oliver’s Cardhouse reported smoke damage but no structural damage. In Lafayette, a relative alerted authorities to a kitchen fire at an unoccupied home after hearing a smoke alarm and seeing flames; firefighters extinguished it, and officials ruled it accidental, with substantial kitchen damage and smoke damage elsewhere. A separate house fire in La Salle caused no injuries, and firefighters brought it under control quickly; its cause remains under investigation and is not considered suspicious.