The situation on the amphibious assault ship is stable and there is no fire threat to the tanks carrying approximately 1 million gallons of fuel on board, said Rear Admiral Philip Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Three.
“We still have an active fire that we are fighting both from the inside and from the outside from multiple access points,” he said at a press conference.
At least 61 people, 38 sailors and 23 civilians, suffered minor injuries, including heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, Sobeck said. There are no hospitalized personnel.
The Coast Guard is preparing for an oil spill or other hazardous waste, but there is currently no discernible glow in the water to indicate a spill, said Coast Guard Captain Timothy Barelli.
Firefighters are fighting two fires, one forward and one backward, the admiral said. The main fire was at the front of the ship, which firefighters initially fought externally due to the heat of the fire. On Monday Sobeck said the temperatures of the fire reached 1,000 degrees.
The MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters of the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Three have held more than 1,200 buckets of water, helping to cool down the flight deck and superstructure of the ship so that fire crews could board and fight the fire. Sobeck said.
The flight deck and superstructure of the ship were damaged by fire, which caused the collapse of the front mast. Sobeck said Monday that there was fire damage to the skin of the ship.
Images posted on social media also show extensive damage to the ship.
The report of a fire first came from the lower vehicle storage area, which is used to store armored vehicles and other Marine Corps equipment, Sobeck said.
Due to the amount of shipyard work being done, the large storage area was being used to store dry walls, supplies, and sturdy cardboard boxes, which Sobeck helped fuel the fire.
Bonhomme Richard is designed to support Marine Corps operations. The ship can transport Marines and equipment from a Marine Expeditionary Unit and land them in hostile territory via landing craft or helicopters, as well as provide air support by helicopter or attack aircraft.
CNN’s Stella Chan contributed to this report.
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