On Monday, more than 400 sailors were still fighting to extinguish the massive fire that was raging aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, and the Navy military cannot say how long it will take to put it out.
The fire knocked down the ship’s front mast and caused further damage to the ship’s superstructure that rises above its flight deck, ABC News reported.
“There is a tremendous amount of heat underneath and that’s where it’s blinking, also forward, closer to the bow there is again a source of heat and we’re trying to get there as well,” Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck, commander of expeditionary Strike Group 3 told reporters Monday in San Diego.
Sobeck said temperatures in the fire’s heat sources had reached 1,000 degrees, and with such extreme temperatures, sailors can only work rotating 15-minute shifts to combat the conflagration.
When asked if he believed the ship could be saved, Sobeck said he hoped so.
“I feel absolutely hopeful because we have sailors who give everything,” he said, the network reported.
He also said he was confident the fire would not come close to the ship’s million-gallon fuel supply, which is located two decks below the fire.
Teams of sailors were pouring water into the boat from the dock and from the tugs alongside the affected boat.
Navy helicopters have also dumped 415 buckets of water on the ship, similar to what they had done to help put out the wildfires.
There were 57 sailors injured after the fire started aboard the ship on Sunday, most from exhaustion and smoke inhalation.
Sobeck had no information on how the fire started, but said it originated in the “bottom V” part of the rear or rear section of the ship, which normally contains equipment used by Marines when on board.
Since the ship has been under maintenance, it has been used to store maintenance supplies, including cardboard boxes and other flammable debris.
“Because the ship was in the yard, there is a lot of scaffolding and a lot of debris on the way,” Sobeck said.
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