Blaze destroys businesses, but crews save Oceanside Pier

Firefighters worked through the night to douse a fire that ignited Thursday on the Oceanside Pier, seriously damaging the wooden structure and several buildings atop it.

In an update on the city’s website Friday morning, city officials said firefighters had contained the fire to the far west end of the pier. Crews removed several planks to access the blaze and to protect the rest of the landmark. The city said 90 percent of the pier was saved.

The structures at the pier’s end — a vacant restaurant that used to be a Ruby’s Diner, the Brine Box fresh seafood restaurant and a bait shop — were destroyed by the flames. But no further loss is anticipated, city officials said.

The pier and the beach surrounding it have been closed until further notice, according to the city. The Coast Guard also established a federally enforceable 500-yard buffer zone around the structure, and passing into the protected space could result in fines, Oceanside Fire Chief David Parsons said.

Activities at the Junior Seau Beach Recreation Center were canceled Friday, as well.

The blaze, which sent clouds of dark smoke into the sky, was spotted at the empty restaurant about 3 p.m. Thursday.

More than 200 firefighters, lifeguards and police officers poured in from Oceanside and nearby cities to help put out the fire. Even a construction company that was nearby to dredge the harbor sent a boat to assist.

Officials worried the nearly 2,000-foot-long pier — the longest wooden pier on the West Coast — might be lost, but crews got a handle on the blaze by 7 p.m.

On Friday, nearly 50 firefighters and several firefighting vessels remained at the location. Parsons said the pier is still burning — the roof of the abandoned restaurant collapsed overnight — and it could take days to fully douse the smoldering fire.

The smoldering is due to girth of the wood, and fire boat crews continued to spray it with water.

The Brine Box, a small fish shack on the pier, was legally using the kitchen in the shuttered restaurant, Parsons said. There were some concerns that kitchen grease and waste held in suspended tanks under the pier may have been impacted, but the storage devices remained intact on Friday, he said.

The city has activated its emergency operation center to handle tasks like monitoring the quality of water around the pier, Parsons said.

It’s unclear how much damage the fire caused, but city officials have already committed to fixing the iconic structure. How long that process may take remains unclear.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.