Your Chemtool Fire Pics Are Needed For New Illinois Mapping Project

I was at my family's cabin in Wisconsin when the Chemtool Fire took place in Rockton, but I remember waking up that Monday morning and being glued to social media all day for the latest updates. I have several friends that live in the Rockton area, I know several firefighters that were on location at the blaze, and my sister-in-law was on location covering it for the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department. Needless to say, I was worried about all of them.

Rockford-area residents may not have to deal with the debris from the fire, but the billow of smoke effected, and was seen, throughout the region. The Chemtool fire became a national story, and that is one of the reasons a group of Rockton-area residents want to create a historical record, using our photos, to show just how far-reaching the effects of the fire really were.

According to the Rockford Register Star;

The idea for mapping where Chemtool debris landed and creating a "visual historic record" of the disaster comes from Dan Enderle, a Prairie Street resident and art teacher at Whitman Post Elementary School.

He's working with the resident-run Citizens for Chemtool Accountability group to launch what he calls the Chemtool Mapping Project, inviting anyone with Chemtool-related photos to submit them.

How To Send Your Chemtool Fire Pics

If you caught some great pics of the blaze, or more importantly have been documenting the debris that hit your home or neighborhood, please go to this link and submit them.  Your photos will then be used to create an electronic and interactive map that will accessible to the public when finished.