3 boats sink after fire at Umatilla Marina; waterway closed for cleanup

UMATILLA – Three boats sank Monday morning after a fire broke out at the Umatilla Marina, prompting a second-alarm response and the closure of the marina’s waterway.

Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District (Umatilla Fire) Chief Chris Baker said crews were dispatched around 6:30 a.m. to a report of a boat fire at a mooring slip. Upon arrival, firefighters found three vessels engulfed in flames, two of which had broken loose and were drifting away from the dock.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the boat still tied to the dock, preventing the flames from spreading to several nearby vessels that had already begun to sustain heat damage.

Umatilla Fire launched a boat to tackle one of the drifting vessels, while the Boardman Fire and Rescue District assisted by launching a boat to extinguish the other. All three boats eventually sank.

Umatilla Public Works deployed containment booms to limit the release of hazardous materials into the water. Umatilla Fire is currently coordinating cleanup efforts with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Health Authority, and other agencies.

The waterway into the marina remains closed until further notice.

Additional assistance was provided by Umatilla County Fire District No. 1, the Umatilla Police Department, and the sheriff’s offices of Umatilla and Morrow counties.

Photo taken from post on Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District’s Facebook page

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Elkhorn Media Group