BRINGING BACK OUR FRESHWATER LAKES BY LISA J AMSTUTZ CONTENT CONSULTANT Dr Gary Lamberti Professor of Biological Sciences and Director Stream and Wetland Ecology Laboratory University of Notre Dame Essential Library An Imprint of Abdo Publishing abdopublishing com CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORIES
The 1952 fire on the Cuyahoga River was the largest in the river's history
Chapter ONE FIRE Fire Fire Bells clanged and sirens blared as fire engines raced to the scene of a huge five story blaze on June 22 1969 But this was no ordinary fire This time a river was burning Oily debris in northern Ohio's Cuyahoga River had been ignited by sparks from a passing train It burned for 20 to 30 minutes and caused approximately 50 000 in damage before firefighters got it under control This was not the first time the Cuyahoga River had caught on fire in fact it was the thirteenth time since 1868 Some of the previous fires were considerably larger The 1952 fire caused more than 1 3 million in damage and the 1912 blaze resulted in five deaths
