The remains of boathouse structures litter the water at the Port Orchard Yacht Club, in Port Orchard, Wash., after a fire damaged or destroyed 10 structures and sank six recreational boats, March 20, 2016.
Pollution responders from the federal, state and local level are on scene mitigating the pollution and investigating the cause.
U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Sector Puget Sound Incident Management Division
Absorbant pads, and containment boom line the marina at the Port Orchard Yacht Club, in Port Orchard, Wash., after a fire damaged or destroyed 10 boathouse structures and sank six recreational boats, March 20, 2016.
Federal, state and local agency personnel outlined the marina with containment boom and placed absorbent material in the marina to mitigate the pollution in the water.
U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Washington Department of Ecology
A Coast Guard pollution responder from Sector Puget Sound Incident Management Division walks the docks at the Port Orchard Yacht Club, in Port Orchard, Wash., and gives a situational report via cellphone, March 20, 2016.
Federal, state and local responders are cleaning up the yacht club and mitigating pollution in the marina after a fire damaged or destroyed 10 boathouse structures and sank six recreational boats.
U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of IMD Sector Puget Sound
SEATTLE — Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology and Kitsap County Fire Department personnel are responding to pollution caused by a now-extinguished fire at the Port Orchard Yacht Club in Port Orchard early Sunday morning.
Personnel from the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Incident Management Division opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contracted National Response Corporation Environmental Services to remove any fuel aboard sunken or damaged vessels.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound were notified by Port Orchard 911 dispatchers at about 3:50 a.m., of a large fire involving multiple vessels and boathouse structures at the Port Orchard Yacht Club. South Kitsap Fire Department personnel responded to the fire and had it put out before 5 a.m.The Coast Guard incident management team was on scene shortly after being notified and began an assessment and reported that six recreational vessels were damaged and sunk, as well as, 10 boathouse structures either lost or damaged.
Currently there is no safety zone being enforced, but a Safety Marine Information Broadcast is being issued to notify boaters of potential hazards in the area. The pollution size is unknown at this time and the entrance to the yacht club is boomed off.
“We have responders on scene to monitor the situation and cleanup efforts,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Hagan, incident management division chief, Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound. “Our goal is to mitigate any environmental damage through a collaborative effort with our agency partners, cleanup personnel and the facility. We are also very grateful that none of the fire responders and no one at the yacht club was hurt."
A boatcrew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Coast Guard Station Seattle was the first Coast Guard asset on scene and monitored the situation for a few hours before being stood down from the response. An aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles is scheduled to conduct a flyover later this morning.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Department of Ecology media contact is Sandy Howard at 360-791-3177 or Sandy.Howard@ecy.wa.gov
Photos from the Washington Department of Ecology can be seen here http://bit.ly/1TYUKdK