2 women killed, 3 more people hurt in Long Beach pleasure boat fire

Two women were dead and two men and a woman were hospitalized with burns after a fire Saturday involving a 35-foot pleasure boat in Long Beach’s Alamitos Bay, the Long Beach Fire Department said.

All of those killed and injured were in their 60s, Long Beach Fire Capt. and spokesman Jake Heflin said.

It happened in the 200 block of Marina Dive near a fuel dock near Long Beach Fire Station 21, the fire agency said on social media. Alamitos Bay is near the Orange County line and the Orange County Fire Authority assisted with the fire fight.

The identities of those involved were not immediately released and the cause of the fire was under investigation. The fire was reported at 5:17 p.m.

Firefighters rushed to the scene of the large, smoky fire that could be smelled by residents throughout the east side of Long Beach and seen throughout the marina area. Video from the scene showed the boat was adjacent to a dock as crews sprayed water on the fire. Heavy fire was burning in the rear of the boat with thick black smoke billowing into the air.

#BREAKING: 2 killed, 3 injured in boat fire at Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, authorities say https://t.co/02l0Mi0KfH

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 6, 2023

Firefighters fought the fire on land and in the water.  Heflin said no firefighters were injured.

Jed Gibbs, 20, a host at The Crab Pot restaurant and bar, said he was looking out the doors that give diners a view of the marina when he heard a pop, a commotion and saw a small plume of black smoke about a quarter-mile away that quickly grew.

Gibbs said he did not hear any screams, and the smoke prevented him from seeing what others were doing in an attempt to rescue the victims and put out the flames.

“It was a little bit crazy. We really don’t have much of these,” Gibbs said, recalling a boat fire in May at a rental shop. “Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at what was going on. It was a little surreal.”

Restaurants, boat-rental shops and the Wibit aquatic playground typically bring out a large crowd to the area on Saturdays during the summer, Gibbs said.

“People looking to have fun, a lot of those sorts of people,” he said.

The wreckage of the boat was towed to an isolation dock to prevent environmental impacts such as leaking fuel, Heflin said.

The investigation into the fire will include reports that the boat was either fueling or had just finished fueling when it burst into flames, Heflin said.

Staff writer Brian Rokos and City News Service contributed to this story.