Firefighters attack blaze on a boat found drifting in Sacramento with billowing black smoke
Firefighters on Wednesday extinguished a fire on a large boat found engulfed in flames and billowing thick plumes of black smoke from where it burned on the Sacramento River.
The boat fire was reported about 10:50 a.m. Wednesday in the river near homes in the 1800 block of Garden Highway just south of Willowcreek neighborhood near South Natomas. The boat was found burning about a mile west of the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers.
The Sacramento Fire Department posted a live video on Facebook showing firefighters responding to the burning boat as they worked to contain the flames.
Capt. Justin Sylvia, a Fire Department spokesman, said the burning boat was not anchored and had drifted down the river before it wedged itself along the bank of the river. He said firefighters had to traverse through the backyards of nearby homes and lay out hose lines to begin their initial attack on the fire.
A boat with a hose from the West Sacramento Fire Department was called to assist the firefighters on the riverbank. Sylvia said flames from the boat began to burn some vegetation along the river show, so there initially was a concern the fire would spread further.
“We still don’t know if this is an occupied boat,” Sylvia said in the Facebook video. “It’s something that we’re going to have to investigate, make sure that there’s nobody inside once we do extinguish this fire.”
He said firefighters were focused on keeping nearby residents away from the billowing smoke and containing the fire on the boat and the several burned bushes along the riverbank.
Firefighters were expected to remain on scene for the afternoon; Sylvia said a fire of this kind requires extensive overhaul to ensure any smoldering material is completely extinguished. Firefighters were also expected to anchor the burned, wayward boat, which was destroyed but remained floating.
“As you can see, this boat is starting to drift once again,” Sylvia said as firefighters gained control of the blaze. “So, the concern is going to be trying to anchor it somehow once it cools down.”
Sylvia said nobody was found on the boat, and no injuries were reported. He said authorities found the registered owner of the burned boat, which sunk in the river after the fire destroyed most of the vessel.
When a fire creates enough damage, Sylvia said, the boat will start taking on water and sink. Fire investigators had not determined the cause of the fire.
