For Day 2 coverage of the fire on the Oceanside Pier, click here
A water contact closure issued due to the Oceanside Pier fire is expected to remain in effect throughout the weekend, officials said.
The blaze, which erupted around 3 p.m. on Thursday, took dozens of fire crews battling the flames by sea and land throughout the night and Friday before the Oceanside Fire Department declared it “under control,” meaning the forward progress had been stopped, on Friday night.
Still, debris and other potential contaminants from the burning structures were falling into the water and washing ashore just south of the pier. As a result, the waters are closed between Surfrider Way, north of the pier, and Tyson Street, south of it.
“I‘m seeing jellyfishes, a lot of seaweed, a lot of black burnt pieces,” Brian Carrillo, a city maintenance worker, told NBC 7 on Friday.
Burnt pieces have been falling from the iconic wooden structure since Thursday. Two restaurants and the hammerhead section of the pier disintegrated in the heat of the fire and under the bombardment of thousands of gallons of water pumped at high velocity.
Fire officials strongly urged beachgoers to leave the burnt pieces of the pier where they are.
“Wood, when it gets burned, has charring just like a campfire, anything you might touch in a campfire with charring could be hazardous to your health,” Blake Dorse, a division chief with the Oceanside Fire Department, said during a news conference on Friday night.
Not every piece is just charred wood; sharp metal and nails are also washing ashore. According to the city’s website, environmental crews in protection gear are combing the beach twice a day to remove and safely dispose of the washed-up debris.
The closure will last until the area is deemed safe for water contact through sampling and field observations. The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health took water quality samples near the pier on Saturday morning, the city said.
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The public is also being asked to stay away from the area to limit smoke exposure from the smoldering material.
Fire officials said smoldering and flareups may be seen over the next few days and that the Oceanside Fire Department will continue to monitor conditions. On Saturday morning, the city’s Water Utilities Department delivered plywood to lay over the firebreak that was created, allowing firefighters to access and pull apart smoldering areas and extinguish them safely.
City engineers completed a preliminary assessment of the pier’s pylons, placed about 35 feet below the sea floor, and found them in good condition and stable. They are beginning to discuss steps to rebuild the damaged section of the pier, the city said.
All jurisdictional partners were released as of 7 p.m. Friday. One fire engine remained at the scene overnight, Dorse said.
The investigation into what caused the fire and where it exactly started is still ongoing, officials said Friday night. Oceanside Fire Chief David Parsons said it could take days or even weeks before the report could be completed.
“The area of origin is in the Ruby’s area or the pier area with the Ruby’s nearby,” Parsons said.
He added that the building — which was a Ruby’s Diner before it closed three years ago — is considered a total loss.
In an earlier update, the deputy fire chief said crews saved about 90% of the pier.
The wooden structure was first built in 1888 but has been destroyed twice in its lifetime, once in 1890 by rough seas and, after it was rebuilt, again in 1902.
Thursday’s fire is not the first building to burn on the site. In 1976, “a fire broke out in the Pier Fish Market, located halfway out on the pier and in December the Pier Cafe was completely destroyed by fire,” according to the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. The current pier was built in 1987.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries. Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez, who said the city would rebuild, stated at the news conference that all employees had been accounted for.