The same day the Plain Dealer called for an end to drainage into the river, the paper referred to Cleveland as the Sixth City, its size in the United States. When Ohio Environmental Protection Agency biologists in the mid-1980s first began counting fish in the middle to lower section of the Cuyahoga River -- the worst polluted section of the stream as it wound through Akron to Cleveland -- they would literally come back with fewer than 10 fish. On June 22, 1969, around 12pm, floating pieces of oil slicked debris were ignited on the river by sparks caused by a passing train. The river was a scary little thing, remembered Tim Donovan, who spent a summer working at the citys steel mills. We wouldnt be here today without the Clean Water Act, the Great Lakes Agreement, and the Endangered Species Act, which Congress passed in 1973. The consensus is 13, but there are estimates as high as 15, dating back to the days immediately following the Civil War. The fire was knocked down within a half hour, with no loss of life and property damage around $50,000. That's the short version of our 40-year ride down the Cuyahoga River following the infamous fire of June 1969. In the summer of 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, defied the laws of nature and caught fire. In fact, gasoline was a byproduct that served no effective use until the internal combustion engine was developed, and cost money to store, so Rockefeller simply dumped it into the river. The 1952 fire destroyed a riverfront office building, a bridge, and numerous boats. Ironically, another oil slick burned on the Cuyahoga River in 1952 causing an estimated $1.5 million damage without attracting national attention. The waste those firms did discharge turned the river muddy and filled it with oil, solvents and other industrial products. Magazines, Digital The law forced Akron and Cleveland to improve their sewage treatment plants, add sewer lines and will soon include the treatment of storm water. CLEVELAND, Ohio You can now safely eat fish caught in the Cuyahoga River. In the days before electric lamps, oils biggest use was being refined into kerosene or paraffin for illumination. Smog, radioactive fallout, pesticides, and polluted rivers were all a result of the new industrial and advanced society. Smoke on the Water: 50 Years After the Cuyahoga Fire, Michael Schwartz Library/Special Collections/Cleveland State University Library, Even the Deepest Depths of the Ocean Are Polluted. But the 1969 fire would change everything. In an attempt to clean the river of its unwanted pollution, Federal, state, and local governments, as well as non-governmental agencies and private environmental groups, have already millions of dollars, especially over the past 20 years. 2004: The Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan discusses ways to have the river removed from an international list of most-polluted sites on the Great Lakes; the Cuyahoga is rerouted around the Kent dam to give fish a better chance to move upstream. Pictured is the 1948 fire. The Cuyahoga River had already burst into flames at least a dozen times. The '69 fire, then, was not really the terrifying climax of decades of pollution, but rather the last gasp of an industrial river whose role was beginning to change. When TIME published dramatic photos of the burning river so saturated with sewage and industrial waste that it oozes rather than flows, per the story concern erupted nationwide. That same year would also see the very first Earth Day. The image that the "the river caught fire" motivated change to protect the environment. Special Collections/Cleveland State University/Michael Schwartz Library. Register to attend this FREE family-friendly event for parents and children ages 3-8 on Friday, July 28 at the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library. Throughout much of Cleveland's history, water pollution did not trouble the city's residents very much. While in Wisconsin, a sudden fire mysteriously starts outside of Peshtigo. People still get parts of the Cuyahoga Rivers story wrong. Can you eat the fish caught from the Cuyahoga River? Voters had approved a $100 million bond issue to clean up the river in 1968, a year before the famous fire. Firefighters attempt to extinguish the flames of the 1952 Cuyahoga River fire at Jefferson and W. 3rd Streets. The story of the Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 - the event that sparked pop songs, lit the imagination of an entire nation, and badly tarnished a city's reputation - is built more on myths than reality. So when Stokes visited the site of the fire the next day, he had a retinue of journalists with him. Initially the fire drew little attention, either locally or nationally. Then, check out these shocking photos of pollution in Chinas Yangtze River. Residents of Cleveland knew better than to swim in the Cuyahoga River. It all started after the Civil War when Cleveland underwent a rapid period of industrialization. He calls the river the regions defining resource,but says people must continue to protect it. Rockefeller said himself that he was constantly rebuilding his refineries, Wlasiuk says. Both the boat and the men are covered in oil polluting Lake Erie. "That's our goal and we think it's going to happen," White said. The 1969 incident was the most covered fire incident but did not result in any fatalities. But the river is no longer filled with filth. Those are the major blazes, and dont include the fires on tributaries where the citys factories, refineries, and mills set up nearby. How many times did the Cuyahoga River burn? Schuylkill River, Philadelphia, United States The river was closed for several days after the fire incident for cleanup. "Because fish just go where there's clean water -- they don't remember how bad it was.". The Cuyahoga River is believed to have caught fire at least thirteen times since 1868. TBS used a pic of a burning river to show CLE during Indians coverage. Grabowski notes that stone houses in the city were discolored, and the titans of industry that had first lived in a millionaires row on Euclid Avenue in the citys Hough neighborhood kept moving farther and farther out of townto escape the pollution their factories made. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 7/1/2023). Other threats are being posed by the construction of dams, toxic waste, increased nutrient pollution, and several more threats that are being faced by the river. 44106-7107. It was not an era where the pollution of the Cuyahoga River was going to be legislated away. Its really a recent phenomenon.. Prior to joining Scene, he was encamped in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on an Scroll to read more Cleveland News articles, Cuyahoga Falls Kayak Race Facebook account. And it's that more comprehensive story which White's river group and others will be telling in 2009 -- The Year of the River -- culminating in a week of events in June to remember the fire and celebrate the subsequent recovery of the Cuyahoga. The 1952 fire on Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. Aside from the Cuyahoga, in which there were no signs of visible life not even low forms such as leeches and sludge worms that usually thrive on wastes unregulated dumping befouled nearly every river that passed through a major metropolitan area. But aquatic bug populations, which are sensitive to pollution, are increasing. On June 22, 1969, an oil slick caught fire on the Cuyahoga River just southeast of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The Cuyahoga River has caught fire for the 14th time in its storied incendiary history and for the first time since the infamous Cleveland blaze on June 22, 1969. "Many people see this fire as being a catalyst for the federal Clean Water Act and other environmental laws. The experience showed him the effect the environment had on people, especially those without the wherewithal to move away from the city center. Between January 1968 and October 1969, three different Lake Erie tributaries caught fire. The last fire, however, started around noon on that June Sunday, and was put out in a half-hour after causing only about $50,000 in damage -- brief and cheap compared to some previous fires on the industrial waterway. The EPA itself says the conversation around protecting the environment started in the 1960s. What happened at the Cuyahoga River fire? How the Largest Machine in the World Works, The U.S. Is "War Gaming" the Electrical Grid, We Could Be Entering a Nuclear Power Renaissance. The Cuyahoga River became known as the river that burned. The Cuyahoga River is believed to have caught fire at least thirteen times since 1868. How did River Fire start? Cleveland, Specifically, following an investigation, the cause was determined to be the oily debris trapped beneath two wooden trestles, rigid support frames, located around the Campbell Rd. That last fire wasn't a big one, causing just $50,000 in damage, and fire crews were. The image that the "the river caught fire" motivated change to protect the environment. Once famous for being polluted and catching fire, the Cuyahoga is making a comeback. And almost everyone knows this tarnished local tale that went . On June 22, 1969, Clevelands filthy river ignited for the 13th and last time. A part of the river is classified as one of the forty-three Great Lakes Regions of Concern. Sam Allard 37 tributaries travel a total of 286 miles into the Cuyahoga. Now, we look at water as an amenity that makes urban life more pleasant. Download the Plain Dealer's front page covering the 1952 fire. ", The Federal Water Pollution Control Administration was less dramatic in a report several years after the fire, but no less emphatic: "The lower Cuyahoga has no visible signs of life, not even low forms such as leeches and sludge worms that usually thrive on wastes.". The flaming Cuyahoga became a figurehead for Americas mounting environmental issues and sparked wide-ranging reforms, including the passage of the Clean Water Act and the creation of federal and state environmental protection agencies. Men examine a cloth soaked in oil from the Cuyahoga River on September 21, 1964. Stokes had powerful allies. Results in subsequent years were continually better, but mostly in the upper reaches of the stream in rural Geauga and Portage counties. Did We Finally Find a Room Temp Superconductor. Myth enters the stories when people describe the fire as a primary cause of major milestones in the environmental movement. The biggest fire on the Cuyahoga came on Nov. 1, 1952, a five-alarm blaze that did $1.5 million in damage, destroying three tugs, three buildings, and the ship repair yards. City councilmen Katalinas, Henry Sinkiewicz and John Pilch inspect evidence of oil pollution in the Cuyahoga River. The fires would spread quickly, aided by accelerants at the refinery and the river of gasoline, biological waste, and other debris that prompted Cleveland Mayor Rensselaer Herrick to call it an open sewer through the center of the city in 1880. When was the last time the Cuyahoga River caught on fire? Despite fueling a "Green Movement" almost half a century ago, the Cuyahoga is still all too often plagued by the negative environmental impacts of irresponsible human activities. Even though it has been misunderstood, the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire did help bring about positive change. It was also featured in Time magazine with a photo of the horrific 1952 fire. Can you eat the fish caught from the Cuyahoga River? Stokes, who was the first black mayor of a major city when elected in 1967, became deeply involved with the issue, holding a press conference at the site of the fire the following day and testifying before Congress - including his brother US Representative Louis Stokes - to urge greater federal involvement in pollution control. However, this was in fact the thirteenth recorded time that the river had caught fire since 1868. The photo that ran in The Plain Dealer on June 23, 1969, showed crews hosing down the smoldering timbers of the railroad bridge, but no spectacular flames or smoke. What caused the Cuyahoga River to catch fire? But ultimately, little was done, as pollution was taken as the cost of doing business. Wikimedia CommonsToday, the Cuyahoga River is much cleaner than it used to be. How deep is the Ohio River? A 1912 blaze killed five men, and a 1952 conflagration left more than $1 million in damages. PublishedJanuary 22, 2019 at 6:00 AM EST. The story was buried in the magazines environment section, but its cover story on Edward Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incident was even bigger news than the moon landing. It completes an 85-mile-long course, and is known to be draining an area of some 813 square miles. The result of those fish samples could be that the important middle section of the river -- from just north of Kent in Portage County through Akron to Harvard Avenue in Cleveland -- will now meet U.S. EPA standards for aquatic life habitat -- that's both fish and insects -- under the federal Clean Water Act. In 1969, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River burned for the last time. 1994: Great blue heron and bald eagles, both fish-eating birds, start returning to the Cuyahoga. People generally agree about what occurred on and immediately after June 22, 1969. The Cuyahoga River is found to be located in northeastern Ohio in the United States, where it can be seen feeding Lake Erie, one of the North American Great Lakes. The Cuyahoga River caught fire on June 22, 1969 -- but that was hardly the first time it had burned. The power plant has been dismantled, but the dam remains. Check here if you would like to receive subscription offers and other promotions via email from TIME group companies. The Cuyahoga River was one of the most polluted American rivers during the twentieth century. Instead, water pollution was viewed as a necessary consequence of the industry that had brought prosperity to the city. And the rat corpses that would regularly float by were bloated to nearly the size of dogs. Stokes, who was elected to the Ohio House in 1960 and narrowly lost an independent bid for mayor in 1965, grew up in Outhwaite Homes, the citys first public housing development, on the east side. In Cleveland, a number of Cleveland State University students celebrated the inaugural Earth Day in 1970 by marching from campus to the river to protest pollution. Time had a circulation of 8 million, and the story was likely seen by even more people; that weeks issue also covered Ted Kennedys Chappaquiddick car wreck and the moon landing. Kusak says by most estimates, there were 13 fires on the Cuyahoga. Magazines, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, The Burning River That Sparked a Revolution. And sparks from passing trains made it vulnerable to catching ablaze. Despite all the cleanup efforts, the Cuyahoga River is still polluted. 50% Off Unlimited Digital Access. The biggest fire on the Cuyahoga came on Nov. 1, 1952, a five-alarm blaze that did $1.5 million in damage. Cleveland Metroparks historical interpreter Doug Kusak and Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Adler provide some context to the myths surrounding the rivers story. On June 22, 1969, the unthinkable happened in Cleveland, Ohio: A river caught on fire. The 1969 fire got more coverage than the other fire incidence because the United States was becoming eco-aware. Today, the Cuyahoga remains a working river, but the industrial ships share the water with kayakers and pleasure cruises. Plus, in the days before steel and concrete were standard construction materials, a lot of Rockefellers construction was woodwhich burns easily. We may still want the jobs that came with oil, plastics, paint and steel -- but not the sludge byproducts that came with it. And Clevelands water pollution control commissioner averred that the Cuyahoga no longer oozed, but often gleam[ed] and sparkle[d]. Almost like, well, a river. But the full story, like the Cuyahoga River itself, follows a more crooked and complex path. These tipping points have been instrumental in having action going forward, but the key isnt crisis management. Chocolate-brown, oily, bubbling with subsurface gases, it oozes rather than flows. 216.368.2000 Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. July 11, 2011 Home News When Our Rivers Caught Fire John Hartig's book chronicles fires on horrifically polluted Rouge River and three others, and the public outcry that stopped them. But the fire, hardly the worst on a then-highly flammable strip of water coursing through Cleveland, is also credited for spurring lawmakers to draw up more stringent clean-water and other environmental regulations. There was a general rule that if you fell in, God forbid, you would go immediately to the hospital..
when did the cuyahoga river catch fire
