Firefighters nonetheless engaged on damaging fireplace at historic Oceanside pier

By Teri Figueroa, Phil Diehl and Karen Kucher

Fire tore by a vacant restaurant on the finish of the Oceanside Municipal Pier Thursday afternoon, inflicting “vital harm” and persevering with to smolder and burn lengthy after crews had the hearth underneath management.

Lifeguards noticed the hearth simply after 3 p.m. on the constructing that had as soon as housed Ruby’s Diner. Images shared on social media confirmed a big black plume of smoke rising above the tip of the enduring pier, making a spectacle for anybody within the space.

Three hours later, crews had stopped the hearth’s ahead progress, nevertheless it was nonetheless burning, primarily beneath the pier, Oceanside Fire Department Chief David Parsons mentioned.

No accidents had been reported, and the staff from the close by bait store and Brine Box restaurant had been all accounted for.

In an replace on town’s web site Friday morning, metropolis officers mentioned firefighters had contained the hearth to the far west finish of the pier. Crews eliminated a number of planks to entry the blaze and to guard the remainder of the landmark.

Most of the harm seems to be contained to the “hammerhead” form on the finish of the pier and stretching about 15 toes down the walkway towards the shore, the hearth chief mentioned.

Parsons mentioned the hearth prompted “vital harm” to the shuttered diner, the neighboring Brine Box, the deck of the hammerhead and the structural help beneath it.

Parsons mentioned the hearth was “an all-hands-on-deck” scenario. The response included 144 firefighters, 30 lifeguards and 32 cops. A development firm on-site to dredge the harbor additionally despatched a ship to assist.

“We have thrown a number of assets at this,” Parsons mentioned. “The pier is a really particular place for us.”

At one level, he mentioned, officers feared the entire pier might be misplaced to fireside, and he credited the big response from different businesses for serving to reserve it.

Oceanside firefighters had been on the scene inside minutes, quickly adopted by crews from Vista, Carlsbad and a number of other different businesses. San Diego Gas & Electric and Sheriff’s Department helicopters dropped water from above, and the Coast Guard despatched a cutter to douse with water from beneath. On the bottom, fireplace crews pulled hoses down the 1,954-foot-long pier.

The chief advised reporters at a 7 p.m. information briefing that though the hearth was nonetheless burning, officers imagine they’ve it underneath management. Crews will keep on the scene by the evening.

Power to the pier is out, so crews will place warning lights alongside the sides to alert boaters in order that they don’t run into it. Officials additionally closed a small part of the seaside south of the pier for security causes, as a result of particles was washing up on shore.

Parsons mentioned officers have requested specialists on the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for assist figuring out what began the hearth.

“We have no idea the place the hearth began,” mentioned Jessica Waite, who operates the Brine Box, the recent fish shack that was badly broken. “What I hear is it was beneath the pier.”

She mentioned the 2 or three Brine Box workers working on the time had been in a position to get away safely when the hearth broke out.

“It was actually scary for our staff and for our chef,” she mentioned. “I do know that everyone is secure.”

About 90 minutes after the hearth was reported, white smoke started to interchange the black smoke — nevertheless it remained so thick that the tip of the pier was obscured from view. Parsons mentioned onshore winds pushed smoke from the tip of the pier towards the shore.

The sight of smoke drew longtime residents Richard and Karen Sonayda from their dwelling a few mile from the pier.

“I’m devastated proper now,” Richard Sonayda mentioned. “I surfed and fished on the pier once I was a bit of boy.”

“This is our dwelling,” Karen Sonayda added.

One person on X, previously referred to as Twitter, recalled taking journeys to Oceanside to eat on the Nineteen Fifties-style diner. “I keep in mind how it might rock and sway with the waves,” the person wrote. “Totally trippy expertise however cool.”

Oceanside has had a pier alongside the shoreline since 1888. The one there now could be the sixth model, in-built 1986 to interchange one destroyed by storms.

“This is a really, very crucial pier for us,” Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez mentioned at a press briefing. “It’s iconic for Oceanside.”

She mentioned this was the primary fireplace of this dimension to hit the pier.

The fireplace comes with Memorial Day — seen because the unofficial begin of summer season — a few month away, and the pier is a star attraction for Oceanside. Parsons mentioned it’s not clear when it should reopen to the general public as a result of it should should be evaluated by a structural engineer.

Last yr, town wrapped up a $5.6 million undertaking to put in new traces on the pier for potable water, wastewater, electrical and communications.

The concrete-and-steel entry ramp often called the Pier View Way Bridge has been there since 1927. There are plans within the works to interchange the bridge and the lifeguard headquarters beneath the pier, however that $40 million undertaking is a number of years off.

The metropolis can be planning to renovate or substitute different getting older amenities close to the pier, together with the Junior Seau Beach group heart, the amphitheater and the bandshell.