Witnesses describe explosions as a yacht with fireworks on board goes up in flames in Marina del Rey. Lauren Coronado reports for Today in LA on Thursday Sept. 19, 2024.
The United States Coast Guard installed roughly 2,000 feet of boom Friday morning in Marina Del Rey to contain nearly 4,000 gallons of leaking diesel fuel after a yacht fire.
The yacht sank Wednesday night when a powerful explosion engulfed a the large boat in flames with nearly 1,000 rounds of unused fireworks and ammunition on board. Fire crews poured water onto the burning vessel, which was ultimately destroyed and sank into the harbor at 2201 Basin A.
“Our Coast Guard team was able to transition quickly from a fire response to an oil spill response, which allowed us to ensure we had the right people and resources mobilized,'' said Capt. Stacey L. Crecy, the Coast Guard's federal on-scene coordinator. “We were able to deploy containment and collection equipment as soon as it was safe to do so to mitigate the impacts from the discharge of diesel from the vessel after it became submerged.''
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The booms were placed around the vessel and affected areas of the harbor. Crews from both the USGC and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will continue to monitor the area until the cleanup is complete.
In a statement Friday morning the Department of Fish and Wildlife said there are currently no impacts to sensitive environmental sites or species, nor has any oiled wildlife been reported.
The USCG has also partnered with Patriot Environmental Services, Cleans Harbors organization, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s County, and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.
The spill is not yet a threat to public health, according to USCG.
The fuel spill cleanup operation could take several days. It’s also still not immediately clear when the boat will be removed from the water.
