  Birwood Member Username: Birwood Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2007 |
I'm helping the a wildlife biologist from the US Fish & Wildlife Service with a project on the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Can anyone remember back possibly in the summer of 1966, June or July, when the Rouge River caught fire due to the pollution. I believe the area in question was the Rouge River between Fort St & Jefferson. The Cuyahogia River in Cleveland did it in 69 | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 4210 Registered: 10-2003 |
I remember that story too and would be interested in the details. When I first saw the Rouge, it was rouge - a reddish looking body of water. The Cuyahoga fire got more press because it destroyed some bridges. | ||
Awfavre Member Username: Awfavre Post Number: 159 Registered: 08-2005 |
Welcome to the forum, Birwood. Great first post. I hope you get some other responses. I heard about the fire on a video about the Rouge, but I haven’t been able to locate any facts about its occurrence via online searches. I wonder if there are old newspaper accounts on microfiche? | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6645 Registered: 02-2004 |
So far there is no fire on the Rouge River. But the Cuyahoga River Fire in Cleveland, Now that was big news. I'm glad that the Clean Air Act was passed in 1971. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1495 Registered: 07-2004 |
It was the Cuyahoga, not the Rouge, that caught fire. In the early 80s, people in my Rouge watershed community noted that, next to the Cuyahoga, the Rouge was the "most polluted river in America. And the Cuyahoga caught fire!" | ||
Abracadabra Member Username: Abracadabra Post Number: 113 Registered: 04-2007 |
I don't know how accurate this is, but worth looking at - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_ releases/2004-06/cwru-msc06170 4.php | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 494 Registered: 08-2007 |
R.E.M penned a song about the polluted Cuyahoga and the media dubbed Cleveland "The Mistake on the Lake" after the fire. | ||
Birwood Member Username: Birwood Post Number: 23 Registered: 10-2007 |
Detroit nerd...This incident happened in the summer of 1966 not 1980. Case Western Reserve University in Ohio has data on the incident as well as the DFD who responded to the fire I'm in process of obtaining the data | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 780 Registered: 08-2007 |
From River Rouge: Ford's industrial colossus By Joseph P. Cabadas Talking about Ford Rouge's Powerhouse and Furnace: After an oil slick on the Rouge River caught fire in the 60s, Ford added an "oil eating" pontoon boat that operated in a boat slip. http://tinyurl.com/29rb4c | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 781 Registered: 08-2007 |
The fire is obliquely referenced on page 43 of the ROUGE RIVER REPORT CARD, DECEMBER 1999: Where We Were: For most of the 20th century, industrial activities and discharges were a major contributing factor to environmental degradation in the Rouge River and southeast Michigan. Most of the industries along the Rouge River used river water in their industrial processes, as well as their sanitary sewer systems to carry away their liquid wastes. The river was severely polluted especially in the downstream reaches, where oil and other chemicals frequently floated on the water's surface and even caught fire. http://www.rougeriver.com/pdfs /rougereportcard.pdf |
