PORT ANGELES – A 28-foot pleasure boat burned Thursday afternoon in the Port Angeles Boat Haven, sending billowing black smoke over the western part of the city.
Pat Cooley was working on the engine of his boat, the Salty Dog, when it backfired and ignited fuel on board.
Witnesses said the boat was engulfed by flames within a minute.
Cooley untied the boat from the marina’s A/B dock, letting it drift away from other boats, to protect them.
The fire singed one piling on the dock.
Crews from the Port Angeles Fire Department were called at about 4:15 p.m.
Fire fighters set up hoses on Marine Drive and on the marina dock, extinguishing the boat as it drifted west.
The burned boat was removed from the water shortly after 5 p.m.
Ken Dubuc, Port Angeles Fire Department’s fire marshal, said the boat was a loss, valued at about $25,000.
The Salty Dog had a fiberglass hull, built by Bellingham-based Uniflite in 1974.
Cooley declined to comment.
