Three Boats Burned at Oyster Cove Marina This Morning

Three boats have burned to the waterline at Oyster Cove Marina, South San Francisco, this morning. Latitude 38 readers Monika Williams and Rob Parrish of S/V Quicksilver were witness to the blaze and sent us photos. Monika wrote, “Rough morning outside Oyster Point Marina (the one recently shut down). Multiple boats on fire. These boats were anchored in the cove since the marina closed.”

“It struck me as peculiar that the boats were so far apart (not rafted together). Hard to imagine they had accidents simultaneously … Hoping that nobody was injured,” Monika added.

We spoke with South S.F. Deputy Fire Chief Matt Samson, who was still on the scene at 10:30 this morning. Samson told us the fires involved an anchored sailboat, a powerboat and a small skiff. The boats had been rafted together when the blaze broke out; as the flames took hold the boats became separated, resulting in three separate fires.

The San Francisco Standard reported this morning that “numerous people” had jumped from the burning boats. While Samson did not state the number of people involved, he did say that “all are accounted for” and confirmed that one person was admitted to a hospital with minor injuries.

The fires have now been extinguished, but all boats are completely burned out, with one being partially submerged in the shallow waters. Firefighters are deploying booms to minimize the contaminant spread in the water.

At this stage the cause of the fire has not been determined.

Oyster Cove Marina has been the subject of discussion in recent years, with around 110 boats being given eviction notices in mid-2022.