Fire turned a Jim Beam warehouse into a burning pile of rubble Wednesday as thousands of gallons of bourbon runoff spilled into a nearby creek and the Kentucky River.

The warehouse in Woodford County contained 45,000 bourbon barrels, and the intense heat from the burning bourbon made it difficult for firefighters to battle the blaze, said Drew Chandler, Woodford County Emergency Management director.

"I was standing 100 yards away (from the warehouse), and it's hot," Chandler said. "(Crews) can't get close enough."

One standard bourbon barrel usually holds about 53 gallons of bourbon that eventually turns into around 150 to 200 750-milliliter bottles. If all the barrels held bourbon, that would be a loss of at least 6.75 million bottles.

Chandler said the blaze began about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at the facility, which is on McCracken Pike near the former Old Crow Distillery by the Franklin County line.

He said the cause was unclear, but Beam Suntory, the Chicago-based spirits company that owns Jim Beam, said initial reports indicate "the fire resulted from a lightning strike."

UPDATE:Jim Beam bourbon warehouse fire still burning as runoff poses environmental threat

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The National Weather Service in Louisville said rain and lightning were reported in the area late Tuesday.

Chandler said the fire began in one barrel warehouse before spreading to a second.

He said crews were able to put out flames in the second warehouse and no injuries were reported.

A Versailles Police officer said the fire was so hot that it melted the windows of a nearby house. He said five or six agencies were responding to the fire.

Gary Tate, who lives on a farm across the street with his wife Linda, said the fire sounded "like someone set off a stick of dynamite right outside the house."

More Jim Beam coverage:What we know about the cause, river impact and more

The flames were so intense, they melted the front side of their home and "peeled it just like a banana," he said.

While they hustled their animals to safety, their nephew called 911.

David Meier, owner of Glenns Creek Distilling, which is near the warehouses on McCracken Pike, said he went to the scene of the fire about 1 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a call from a neighbor.

Despite his distillery's location uphill from the Jim Beam warehouses, Meier said a burning mixture of water and alcohol runoff made it onto his property but did not reach any of his buildings.

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Crews had extinguished the runoff by the time Meier arrived.

“They did a really good job of containing everything to one building,” Meier said.

At 11:15 a.m., Woodford County emergency officials allowed media to enter an area about 50 yards from the warehouse. By that time, the warehouse had become a burning pile of rubble, and a strong scent of bourbon was in the air.

Remnants of a scorched semitrailer truck could be seen behind the gate to the warehouse.

Temperatures in the high 80s only added to the heat for emergency crews as they shot water into the area from their trucks. A emergency management worker said the heat was “much worse last night.”

Meanwhile, runoff from the blaze had made it to the nearby Kentucky River and Glenns Creek, according to John Mura, a spokesman for the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. Crews were using sand to try to prevent more runoff from going into the streams, he said.

He said the state had advised firefighters not to spray water on the fire, because that would increase the runoff.

Mura said officials anticipated a “significant” number of fish in the creek and river would die because of the runoff and lowered oxygen levels in the water.

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Beam Suntory said the warehouse held 45,000 barrels of “relatively young whiskey from the Jim Beam mash bill.”

“We have a comprehensive warehouse safety program that includes regular inspections and rigorous protocols to promote safety and the security of our aging inventory," the Beam Suntory statement said. "Given the age of the lost whiskey, this fire will not impact the availability of Jim Beam for our customers.”

The firm operates 126 barrel warehouses in Kentucky that hold approximately 3.3 million barrels, it said.

The price of Suntory Beverage and Food's stock plummeted Wednesday morning after opening at around $22 a share. But after the company provided reassurances, the price climbed back over $22 as the market closed at 1 p.m. for the July Fourth holiday.

The fire was still burning as of 7:20 p.m. Wednesday when it began to rain, and police were monitoring the burning rubble.

More:It's been a year since Kentucky's huge bourbon barrel spill. What's changed?

Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-582-4181 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.