Cuyahoga River Fire of 1969, a Spark for Environmentalism

On June 22, 1969, an oil slick and assorted debris caught fire under a railroad trestle on the Cuyahoga River. It was a relatively quick fire, having only burned for 30 minutes. The occurrence was barely covered in the local Cleveland newspapers, and did not receive much attention until a month later, when Time Magazine made it a national issue.

What most people don’t know is that the fire was one of a dozen similar incidents when oil and chemical-soaked debris ignited on the Cuyahoga. And it didn’t happen only in Cleveland – rivers flowing through urban centers often served as sewers for industrial waste.

40 years later, the Cuyahoga fire remains a powerful symbol of an industrialized planet in peril and our impending environmental crises. The event had such a great impact that many credit it as being a catalyst for Congress to pass the Clean Water Act in 1972, and for the creation of agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

In recognition of the four decades of progress since the fire, 2009 has been dubbed “The Year of the River” in Cleveland. This year is a celebration of the progress made in cleaning local waterways, and to recognize that additional efforts are still needed to further clean and maintain these natural resources.

Also commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Cuyohoga River fire, Positively Cleveland is has compiled a nice list of the 75 “green” things we love about Cleveland.

Additional Articles and Videos on the Cuyahoga River fire:

• Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization
• Positively Cleveland – 75 Green Things We Love About Cleveland
• VIDEO: Retired Congressman Louis Stokes talks about his theory for pursuing clean water laws: If we could clean up the Cuyahoga River, we could clean up any body of water in the nation.
• VIDEO: Ben Stefanski II remembers standing at the river with Mayor Carl Stokes the day after the fire, declaring war on water pollution.
• VIDEO: Frank Samsel, retired owner of Samsel Supply Co., wasn’t surprised the river caught fire. He recalls regularly sucking up fats from rendering plants along with fuel and chemical spills.