Owner may have been on boat that sank in fire
Divers began to strategize Monday about how best to raise a boat from the water surrounding Bethel Island after a fire destroyed and sunk it Sunday night, possibly with the owner aboard.
The boat sank in the Dutch Slough area following the fire that was first reported at 10:04 p.m. Sunday. East Contra Costa Fire Protection District personnel put out the blaze and later turned over the investigation to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.
The boat was in a marina on Rearview Place near the San Joaquin Yacht Club.
Authorities believe a man may have been aboard the boat but said they were unable to locate anyone as of Monday afternoon. A man lives on the boat, and authorities said his vehicle was in the marina parking lot.
“He’s the kind of guy that when he’s on his boat, he stays out there for the night,” Battalion Chief Craig Auzenne said.
The search will continue into the days ahead.
“The Sheriff’s Office has to send divers down there and see what it takes to bring the boat up,” Auzenne said. “It’s not going to be a fast process.”
According to the Sheriff’s Office Delta Station, residents heard a loud explosion around the time of the fire. When deputies arrived, they saw the boat was engulfed in flames, sheriff’s office spokesman Jimmy Lee said in a statement released by the agency.
“Currently efforts are being made to raise and move the vessel for further investigation,” he said.
Firefighters contained the fire and kept it from spreading to other boats, Auzenne said.
Fire officials have not determined what started the fire and said the damage to the boat was estimated at $22,000.