Lack of wind prevented more boats from burning

Dan Kulin

Friday, March 7, 2003 | 9:29 a.m.

Five boats were sent to the bottom of Lake Mead and another was left charred, warped and on the brink of sinking. Three more boats were badly damaged by heat and smoke, and dozens were left dirtied by soot with bits of charred wood or Fiberglas bobbing around their waterlines.

But National Park Service officials say the lack of a strong wind at Lake Mead Marina on Wednesday night kept the fire that left this trail of destruction from being much worse.

The fire caused no injuries or deaths, officials said. Divers searched the sunken boats Thursday, and the owners of the downed vessels were contacted to make sure no one was on the boats Wednesday night, said William Shott, Park Service supervisory ranger.

The cause of the fire, believed to be the first ever at the 750-boat marina, had not been released as of Thursday afternoon.

Shott, one of the first on the scene of the fire at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, said several boats and land-based fire hoses were used to battle the blaze.

"It was a godsend that there was very little wind," Shott said. The fire could have easily spread to other boats, some of which were just a few yards away, he said.

"We were lucky; it could have been 10 times worse," he said.

If it had been, Bob Coleman's cabin cruiser might have suffered more than soot from the fire that was stopped just five slips away.

Coleman saw the smoke as he was leaving the Hacienda hotel near Boulder City Wednesday night after dinner, but he said he wasn't worried about his boat.

"If it happened it happened," Coleman said.

However, Coleman, whose boat has been at the marina since 1973, said he was surprised there was a fire at the marina.

"We've only had one boat in the last 30 years that burned and that was out in the lake," Coleman said.

Wayne Johanson, general manager of the marina, said there has never been a fire at the marina, which opened about eight miles from Boulder City next to Boulder Beach in 1961.

The fire was contained to a section of B dock called Lighthouse Way where the water is about 65 feet deep, officials said.

Several parts of the marina around the charred dock were surrounded by white floating booms Thursday to contain the remaining fuel. Marina workers also used special white pads to soak up fuel from the water.

The fuel in the water is a concern, but workers should be able to adequately clean it up, Shott said.

"The fuel is on top of the water and now it is contained," he said.

The weather should also help the cleanup from the fire, Shott said.

The warm sunny days expected through the weekend will help evaporate whatever spilled fuel is missed by the cleanup efforts, he said.

Johanson said all the boats docked at the marina are required to have insurance. The boat owners are charged about $8 per foot, based on the size of their boat, per month to rent space at the marina, he said.

The marina is run by a private company, Seven Crown Resorts.