As Americans this week donned red, white, and blue to celebrate the nation’s birthday, there were different kinds of fireworks in northern Kentucky.
A massive inferno on Wednesday destroyed a Jim Beam warehouse in Versailles—taking with it some 45,000 barrels of bourbon stored inside.
Two repositories caught fire late Tuesday night, according to Drew Chandler of Woodford County Emergency Management, who suggested the blaze may have been caused by lightning.
But while crews were able to stamp out one, the other burned for hours, local CBS affiliate WLKY-TV reported.
Aside from plenty of broken hearts, no one was hurt in the fire.
“We have a comprehensive warehouse safety program that includes regular inspections and rigorous protocols to promote safety and the security of our aging inventory,” Dan Cohen, a spokesman for Jim Beam parent company Beam Suntory, said in a statement.
“We operate 126 barrel warehouses in Kentucky that hold approximately 3.3 million barrels for our brands, and the warehouse that was destroyed contained 45,000 barrels of relatively young whiskey from the Jim Beam mash bill,” he explained. “Given the age of the lost whiskey, this fire will not impact the availability of Jim Beam for consumers.”
Instead, aquatic life in Glenns Creek and the nearby Kentucky River will bear most of the burden: The state believes water used to extinguish the fire has run off into the stream.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet this week issued a warning about the effect the bourbon spill is having on wildlife—including dead and distressed fish.
And while trawling along the river is not prohibited, officials are urging locals not to capture or eat gill-bearing animals that appear unhealthy or dying.
There is currently no concern over drinking water (which may or may not give you a slight buzz).
WLKY shared photos on Twitter of the sea of flames—reportedly still burning on Thursday.
“It’s about the best-smelling fire I’ve ever been at,” Chandler told The New York Times. “It is not as pungent like in a house fire because it is mostly old natural wood and a distilled spirit, so it has a bit of a sweetness to it.”
Raging heat from the fire combined with sweltering temperatures made it so scorchingly hot that a fire truck’s tail lights began to melt.
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