US Navy officials said Monday that the fire raging the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard for the second day has reached temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees and is still burning in various parts of the ship.
Smoke and fumes continue to affect the horizon and air throughout San Diego.
Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, said Monday morning that the fire is on the ship’s superstructure and its upper decks and that the front mast has collapsed.
“Obviously there is burn damage to the entire skin of the ship, and we are evaluating that as we go through each compartment,” he said. “Right now, the priority is to put out the fire so that we can do a full assessment.”
He said the flames are two decks from the area of the ship where a million gallons of fuel is stored. He said it is “a concern,” but is confident that the fire can stay away from him.
About 400 sailors and fire crews from across the San Diego coast are fighting the fire, and the helicopters drive drops of water. As of noon, Helicopter Maritime Combat Squadron 3 had dropped 415 buckets on the ship, Sobeck said.
He said the water from the firefighting is causing the ship to step aside, but Navy personnel are working to pump the water.
The cause of the fire remains unknown. Sobeck said it may have started in a cargo area known as the depth V storage area.
Sobeck said that although the ship was under maintenance, none of the work done was in the storage area. And due to work being done, the ship’s halon system, which emits a gas that deprives the fire of oxygen, was not active, he said.
So far, 36 sailors and 23 civilians have been treated for injuries, mostly minor, related to fire fighting. None were in the hospital as of the last update from the Navy on Monday afternoon.
Air quality is still a problem. Residents report that they smell smoke from places as far away as Vista, more than 40 miles away. The horizon around the South Bay and Bonita area was brown on Monday morning.
Sobeck, who said plastics and wiring exteriors were burning, urges people to take precautions recommended by county air quality officials. San Diego County and the National Weather Service recommended that people stay indoors with windows closed if they smell a fire.
The United States Coast Guard said it is preemptively deploying a protection boom in a 1-nautical-mile security zone “to protect itself from any possible environmental concerns.” It is also restricting aircraft in the area up to 3,000 feet.
Cities in the area have tried to prepare for emergency situations on Navy ships, such as a fire. Just six months ago, Coronado, San Diego, the Federal Fire Department and the Navy participated in a three-day joint training that included learning to interact with multiple agencies and provide support, Coronado Fire Chief Jim Lydon said.
On Sunday Coronado sent a battalion chief and a fire truck, he said, and provided help inside the ship.
Some observers on social media, including former sailors and naval experts, have questioned whether the Navy will sink the ship, but Sobeck said Monday that he believes the ship will eventually be repaired.
Passersby watch as emergency crews respond to the scene of a fire aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard on Sunday in San Diego.
(Sam Hodgson / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Amphibious assault ships are used to deploy marines in amphibious landings. During operations, ships conduct flight operations with helicopters and jet aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier and its replacement, the F-35 B Lightning. While deployed, these ships carry more than 2,000 sailors and marines.
Sobeck said Sunday that all sailors are trained from ship fire training camp.
This is one of the largest fires on a Navy ship out of combat. In 1967, a fire on the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier killed more than 130 sailors after a rocket was accidentally fired on the flight deck and caused several explosions. The episode has been used as a lesson on how to address security procedures on board Navy ships.
The USS George Washington, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier, caught fire in 2008 when oil was improperly stored on the ship. At least 37 sailors were injured in the fire, which took 12 hours to extinguish and cost $ 70 million in repairs.
Dyer writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
