Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology and South Kitsap Fire and Rescue mopped up what state Department of Ecology officials said was the largest maritime fuel leakage in years to spill into waters off Port Orchard and Puget Sound.
According to department spokesman Larry Altose, the Port Orchard Yacht Club fire March 20 released fuel that registered as possibly the largest in Puget Sound since 2009.
The largest spill happened in 2009 when about 5,000 gallons of jet fuel from a commercial jetliner was dumped into Puget Sound.
The yacht club fire destroyed five vessels that were at least 40 feet long, as well as their housing sheds, in the early morning hours on Sunday. Crews from SKFR, the Coast Guard, Bremerton Fire Department and the Department of Ecology quickly contained the fire, which had been called in by marina residents at 3:50 a.m. The prompt crew work kept the fire from causing damage to other boats and their shelters. It’s estimated by South Kitsap Fire and Rescue that 38 other vessels were not damaged by the fire. There were no injuries reported.
The Coast Guard’s incident management team was on site shortly after the blaze was called into authorities. The team began an assessment of the damage and of any potential hazards in the water. While no safety alerts had been issued, marine broadcasts warned boaters of potential hazards in the area. The entrance to the yacht club was boomed off to prevent further spread of fuel.
The Coast Guard dispatched its 45-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Seattle to monitor the evolving situation on Sunday.
“We have responders on scene to monitor the situation and cleanup efforts,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Hagan, the Coast Guard’s incident management division chief of the Puget Sound sector.
“Our goal is to mitigate any environmental damage through a collaborative effort with our agency partners, cleanup personnel and the facility,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“We are also grateful that none of the fire responders and no one at the yacht club was hurt.”
Thousands of gallons of marine fuel spread an oily sheen on the waters surrounding the yacht club and marina.
Earlier this week, Altose said his department was unsure if fuel was still spilling into the waters. “While this is one of the largest spills we’ve faced in a while, so far we haven’t seen any impacts to wildlife,” he said.
Altose said the tedious work removing debris from sunken and damaged boats has taken crews several days to complete. He said the debris floating in the water slowed work cleaning the surface of fuel oil.
“While the sheen on the water is clearly visible from the air, we don’t think it will cause lasting damage,” Altose said.
Crews on Sunday deployed large absorbent pads and thousands of feet of containment boom, which helps contain the fuel from open waters of Sinclair Inlet.
In addition to help from Bremerton Police Department’s marine vessel, marine crews from North Kitsap’s and Bainbridge Island’s fire departments joined the firefighting efforts Sunday morning.
According to department spokesman Larry Altose, the Port Orchard Yacht Club fire March 20 released fuel that registered as possibly the largest in Puget Sound since 2009.
The largest spill happened in 2009 when about 5,000 gallons of jet fuel from a commercial jetliner was dumped into Puget Sound.
The yacht club fire destroyed five vessels that were at least 40 feet long, as well as their housing sheds, in the early morning hours on Sunday. Crews from SKFR, the Coast Guard, Bremerton Fire Department and the Department of Ecology quickly contained the fire, which had been called in by marina residents at 3:50 a.m. The prompt crew work kept the fire from causing damage to other boats and their shelters. It’s estimated by South Kitsap Fire and Rescue that 38 other vessels were not damaged by the fire. There were no injuries reported.
The Coast Guard’s incident management team was on site shortly after the blaze was called in to authorities. The team began an assessment of the damage and of any potential hazards in the water. While no safety alerts had been issued, marine broadcasts warned boaters of potential hazards in the area. The entrance to the yacht club was boomed off to prevent further spread of fuel.
The Coast Guard dispatched its 45-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Seattle to monitor the evolving situation on Monday.
“We have responders on scene to monitor the situation and cleanup efforts,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Hagan, the Coast Guard’s incident management division chief of the Puget Sound sector.
“Our goal is to mitigate any environmental damage through a collaborative effort with our agency partners, cleanup personnel and the facility,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“We are also grateful that none of the fire responders and no one at the yacht club was hurt.”
Thousands of gallons of marine fuel spread an oily sheen on the waters surrounding the yacht club and marina.
Earlier this week, Altose said his department was unsure if fuel was still spilling into the waters. “While this is one of the largest spills we’ve faced in a while, so far we haven’t seen any impacts to wildlife,” he said.
Altose said the tedious work removing debris from sunken and damaged boats has taken crews several days to complete. He said the debris floating in the water slowed work cleaning the surface of fuel oil.
“While the sheen on the water is clearly visible from the air, we don’t think it will cause lasting damage,” Altose said.
Crews on Sunday deployed large absorbent pads and thousands of feet of containment boom, which helps contain the fuel from open waters of Sinclair Inlet.
In addition to help from Bremerton Police Department’s marine vessel, marine crews from North Kitsap’s and Bainbridge Island’s fire departments joined the firefighting efforts Sunday morning.
