Jim Beam has been fined $600,000 (£458,000) after a warehouse fire sent a 37km stream of alcohol into the Kentucky and Ohio rivers, killing fish and other wildlife.

The distiller agreed to the fine earlier this month following an order from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, the Courier-Journal reports.

The fire in July was started when lightning struck a barrel warehouse near the Woodford-Franklin County line.

It sent flames shooting into the night sky that could be seen for miles and generated so much heat that the lights on fire engines melted.

About 40,000 barrels of ageing whiskey were destroyed, and the runoff poured into nearby Glenns Creek and then downstream into the rivers.

Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Trent A survey of 13 UK rivers has found they all contain microplastics - and one is more polluted than the "great Pacific garbage patch", Greenpeace said after they carried out their rivers project Green Peace/PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Lea A coot sits on a nest composed partly of plastic in the River Lea Green Peace/PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures Afon Glaslyn Activists from Surfers Against Sewage collect plastic waste from the Afon Glaslyn in Snowdonia PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Derwent A water vole encounters a plastic drinks lid in the River Derwent Green Peace/PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Mersey Plastic samples found in a Greenpeace survey of the River Mersey, the most polluted river in the UK Green Peace/PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Thames A volunteer shows a bag full of plastic cable ties found along a single stretch of the Thames at Putney in west London PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Thames Volunteers collect and count plastic bottles littering the shore of the Thames at Queenhithe Dock in central London PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures Afon Glaslyn An activist from Surfers Against Sewage collects plastic waste from the Afon Glaslyn in Snowdonia PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Wye Scientists and activists conduct a survey of plastic pollution o in the River Wye for Greenpeace Green Peace/PA Plastic pollution in UK rivers: In pictures River Little Ouse A grey wagtail among plastic waste on the River Little Ouse Green Peace/PA

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources found dead fish along 62 miles of Glenns Creek and the Kentucky River. There were also dead fish in the Ohio River, but Energy and Environment Cabinet spokesman John Mura has described the impact there as “negligible”.

In a comment to the newspaper, Beam Suntory, the Chicago-based spirits company that owns Jim Beam, said, “While we were able to minimise impacts to the surrounding environment and wildlife ... We recognise the regrettable and unavoidable impacts of the incident and have been committed to doing what we can to restore the environment.

“That includes making payments to the state to compensate for time spent, resources utilised and costs to supplement the local fish population.”