I'll add photos if someone tells me how.
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About 3 weeks ago, someone spread what I assumed was fertilizer on the lawns at my apartments. It was whitish irregular granules that sat there, dry, for about a week before we got a fine misting of rain that dissolved it. Then it was several more days before we got a little more rain, but not a lot.
__________________________________________________________ I soon noticed that the individual blades of grass were drying out and turning dark green to black in wide lines following the paths where the guy had "fertilized" (the same paths the lawn mowers take). About 40% of the grass blades are totally desiccated. None had a chance to become chlorotic or brown 1st. They dried out just as if he'd spread silica powder instead of whatever he spread.
__________________________________________________________Since that event, no grass has become greener or grown faster as one would expect if he'd spread fertilizer or over-fertilized, but no grass has turned yellow or brown either.
__________________________________________________________ I thought at 1st it was fertilizer burn, but if it were, there would be new growth in the correctly fertilized zones between the unfertilized and over-fertilized areas. There is not. There is also no healthy new growth anywhere I can see.
__________________________________________________________Additionally, a couple of days ago they spread a little sidewalk salt in anticipation of icy conditions when it was supposed to get cold after a little rain. That never happened. Today, I can see very clear footprints through the grass that are the same dark green, dead grass as the stripes.
__________________________________________________________ My suspicion is that they spread sidewalk salt instead of fertilizer, but I can't find any photos of salt burn that match the green desiccated grass like we have. All the salt damage info I find shows brown grass, not dark green or black.
__________________________________________________________ I'm in western Oregon. It has not been exceptionally wet, dry, warm, or cold. Just a pretty normal winter. If I can supply any other helpful info, let me know.