Boat that caused fire expected to be raised today in Gig Har

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OLYMPIA - Officials expect today to raise the boat they suspect caused a fire that destroyed 48 boats Aug. 31 at the Harborview Marina in Gig Harbor.

"This will be our first look at the boat where we believe the fire started," said Gig Harbor Fire Marshal Dick Bower. "We're hoping there's enough left of it to confirm what we already know or even tell us some things we don't."

While the cause has not been pinpointed, investigators believe the fire was accidental.

The boats burned down to their water lines, hampering efforts by investigators to track how the fire spread. Officials have managed to identify most of the boats with the help of boat owners.

"At the rate we're going, it's possible we could remove the last of the boats sometime Monday," said Ron Holcomb, on-scene coordinator for the state Department of Ecology. "As more of the marina rubble has been removed, we've really been able to pick up the pace."

As of this morning, crews had raised 33 boats. Clean-up crews also had recovered nearly 4,000 gallons of water contaminated with gasoline, diesel fuel and other oils discharged as a result of the marina fire. In addition, crews have so far filled four barges with debris from the collapsed marina structure as removal of the roof and floats continues.

To expedite the clean-up, contractors worked with the U.S. Coast Guard, Ecology and local officials through the Labor Day holiday weekend and will work through this weekend as well. Cost of clean-up, including raising the 48 sunken vessels, is expected to be $1.6 million, and is being paid for through the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.

Parks and docks remain open and people are largely free to go as they please.

Environmental damage was largely contained Wednesday when the city deployed the boom it had recently purchased, confining pollutants to the marina at a time when the outgoing tide could have swept them out to Puget Sound.

Since then, additional containment booms have been deployed to help prevent pollution from reaching three area creeks that Ecology has identified as sensitive areas.

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