Firefighters extinguished a fire chewing through a pier at the Port of Benicia, a little less than a day after flames up shot from the port and threatened a nearby docked tanker ship.
A massive cleanup and repair effort swung into gear Sunday afternoon at the port, as Benicia city officials lamented a devastating blaze that could create major economic challenges for the region. City officials planned to deploy a 3,000-foot boom Sunday to capture debris floating away from the fire-ravaged port, though they cautioned boaters to avoid the area.
No initial damage estimate was available Sunday, though a walk-through of the damaged area is planned for Monday, said Della Olm, a city spokesperson.
The blaze broke out at about 2 p.m. Saturday, when firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at the Amports facility off Bayshore Road. Firefighters immediately encountered flames at the base of silos filled with petroleum coke — a product of refining fuel. From there, a small outbuilding caught fire, as well as a conveyor belt system that is used to move product from the port to ship tankers, Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick said. When firefighters arrived, the flames appeared to be moving up the conveyor belt to a docked tanker ship, the city’s release said.
While firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames at the base of the silos, the conveyor belt proved more difficult. Embers fell from the belt onto the wooden dock nearby, which set off the massive blaze and large billows of smoke, Chadwick said.
The fire, which was quickly elevated to a four-alarm blaze, engulfed a long, wooden dock at the port located on the Carquinez Strait below the Benicia-Martinez Bridge on Interstate 680. The fire that remained burning Sunday morning was eating through wood under the port’s dock, which is soaked in the chemical preservative creosote.
A San Francisco Fire Department fire boat helped make “significant” progress overnight battling the blaze, because its size made it easier to directly attack the flames from the water, Olm said. It was joined by fire boats from the Oakland, Port Chicago, Southern Marin, Tiburon, Redwood City and Benicia fire departments.
Also, a large crane arrived onsite to help trench asphalt on the pier — allowing crews to access that hard-to-reach timber under the asphalt, according to Benicia’s news release.
The fire was initially contained 9:40 a.m. Sunday, and it was declared extinguished at 12:24 p.m., according to a press release by the city.
Officials advised members of the public to avoid the area near Bayshore Road. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Benicia city officials fear the blaze could have far-reaching economic impacts for the region. Amports uses it to offload imported vehicles, and the Valero Benicia Refinery uses it to process crude oils into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
“It’s clear and obvious – deepwater ports, there’s not a lot of them and this is certainly going to be a challenge to us not only in Benicia but probably our entire region when you lose a dock like this,” Deputy Benicia City Manager Mario Giuliani said on Saturday. “… It’s certainly not going to be good from an economic standpoint.”
It has also prompted fears of heightened pollution in the bay — mainly by San Francisco Baykeeper, a nonprofit organization that has sued the port and the Valero refinery in the past over alleged Clean Water Act violation.
City fire officials said they would work with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Coast Guard to address the pollution issues.
Source: www.mercurynews.com