Elkhart County, which has the state’s highest unemployment rate, now holds another undesirable distinction: second in the state in methamphetamine labs recovered this year.

Through Oct. 31, authorities have responded to 50 meth labs in the county, according to statistics provided by the Indiana State Police. There also have been several high-profile busts this month that have not yet been counted toward the numbers.

All that paved the way for a training seminar last week to better educate authorities on how to safely respond to those scenes.

Numbers rising

On Nov. 19, the Elkhart County Interdiction & Covert Enforcement Unit recovered one of the largest meth labs in the county’s history while searching a home in the 600 block of Jordan Street near Elkhart’s downtown. The lab had the capacity to manufacture a considerable amount of the drug, according to the Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office.

And in October, a lab blew up in an apartment building two blocks north of downtown Elkhart, sending a man and woman to a Fort Wayne burn unit with serious injuries.

The myth that meth labs are a rural problem no longer holds true, as they continue to sprout up in urban areas as well, police say.

The numbers in Elkhart County have spiked dramatically in the past few years. Last year, there were 39 meth labs recovered, while 14 were found in 2006. Back in 2003, there were only nine.

Lt. Ed Windbigler, Elkhart police spokesman, could not give a reason why there has been such an increase.

Officials in the prosecutor’s office were not available for comment Wednesday or today. However, Bill Wargo, the chief investigator with the prosecutor’s office, told WSBT-TV earlier this month he believes part of the problem is a lack of high-grade Mexican meth, which local investigators have eliminated, for the most part, from the streets.

"We made a significant impact on that over the past couple of years, which has now created a situation where the price of meth in Elkhart County has gone from $4,500 a pound to $17,500 a pound," Wargo said in the interview.

Because of this, Wargo said, more people are making meth locally, and he fears it’s going to continue to get worse.

Meanwhile, the number of meth labs recovered in St. Joseph County has actually decreased through the first 10 months, with six recovered. That’s compared to 21 in 2007 and 15 in 2006. In 2000 and 2001, state police — who respond to every meth lab found in Indiana — did not respond to a single one in the county.

Responding to labs

This rise in meth hasn’t gone unnoticed by Elkhart authorities, who are worried for their safety when responding to labs, which are not always identifiable at first glance but contain several explosive chemicals.

Also, the labs can be constructed almost anywhere — in the trunks of cars, in backpacks, vacant homes and mobile homes. "Mobile meth labs" are one of the more recent phenomena, Windbigler said.

Windbigler said as meth makers and dealers become more advanced, authorities need to be better educated about what to look for. Members of the Elkhart Police Street Crimes Unit held training sessions last week to educate Elkhart firefighters, who sometimes can be called out to a fire that was unknowingly sparked by a meth lab explosion.

"You don’t know what you’re getting into," said Ken Stouter, Elkhart assistant fire chief. "It’s a huge problem right now, especially with the way the economy is. People are looking to make some extra money."

Police showed the firefighters the tell-tale sign of many meth labs — LP tanks lying around, ephedrine packages, bottles of ammonia, batteries and drain cleaners, among other things. The LP tanks can sometimes heat up and explode, causing the possibility of serious injury.

"It helps us sense the warning signs a little quicker," Stouter said. "It’s a volatile situation having combustibles lying around like that."

Staff writer Tom Moor: tmoor@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6555