dead fish
Facebook: Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet

Jim Beam Warehouse Fire Kills 'Tens of Thousands' of Fish

The Kentucky River is littered with dead fish following the horrible event.

On July 2, a massive fire broke out at a Jim Beam bourbon facility in Versailles in Woodford County, Kentucky.

According to Beam Suntory, the company that owns the facility, roughly 45,000 barrels of "relatively young" whiskey burned in the fire.

Unfortunately, however, not only the barrels of whiskey were lost, as so were "tens of thousands" of fish, according to wildlife officials.

According to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, there's what's called an "alcohol plume" from the bourbon runoff that's about 23 miles long in the Kentucky River.

The cabinet then posted a clip of some of the aftermath.

Watch the video below:

"These teams will continue assessments and work to mitigation efforts of the spill until water quality returns to normal conditions in the river," the cabinet said in its statement. "Other impacts observed on the river include foaming discoloration and odor."

The cabinet also said it expects the bourbon to dissipate when it reaches the larger Ohio River.

So, all in all, while this is a tragic loss for the Kentucky River, it does appear to only be temporary.

It's always shocking when we learn how severe the effects of our manmade mistakes can truly be. In this case, it fortunately looks like it won't do much long-term damage, but losing that many fish can have a serious impact on an ecosystem.

Not to mention, local anglers will certainly be hurting on fishing opportunities.

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