Tires were used as fuel to burn trees north of Clinton in December. (Photo courtesy of Iowa DNR) An eastern Iowa company was fined $4,500 for placing waste tires among tree debris to hasten its burning in December, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Someone reported on Dec. 5 a sudden accumulation of tires and a subsequent fire in a rural area north of Clinton near the Mississippi River, DNR records show. A DNR officer who responded to the report saw dark smoke emanating from a stand of trees and talked to the property owner, Thomas Stevenson, who said up to 10 tires had been burned. People are…