The lights came on early at Oak Bay Marina on Wednesday as 40-foot cabin cruiser boat at the end of the first finger caught fire at about 4:30 a.m.
Oak Bay, Victoria and Saanich fire crews, as well as Oak Bay police, attended as the fire required hundreds of feet of line to reach the boat.
No one was injured in the blaze, which was so big that the initial 911 caller reported multiple boats on fire. The cause is yet unknown, the boat is severely damaged and the owner is out of country. However, it is believed the boat was well kept and in tidy condition, said Oak Bay Fire Chief Darren Hughes.
“It was on the far end of a [dock] and it was well involved when crews arrived,” Hughes said. “It is fortunate that because of its position on the end of the dock that it wasn’t closer to other boats or more likely would have caught fire.”
The boat nearest was damaged by the heat. The boat will now be towed to Sidney for demolition.
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At 9:30 a.m. the boat was still smouldering.
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Police are asking the public to avoid the area as the smoke is harmful for health, though marine tenants may access their yachts.
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