Lightning sparked the fire at the company’s Woodford County warehouse, investigators said, resulting in the destruction of 45,000 barrels of young whiskey and a large number of fish in a nearby waterway.
Environmental officials said the fish died because the bourbon cut oxygen supplies in the water.
“There is a penalty and we will be assessing the whole incident and I am sure we will be issuing a notice of violation,” John Mura, a spokesman for Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet, said, adding that Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will determine the penalty after negotiations. John Mura, a spokesman for Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet, said. Here’s a video from WKYT.