A fire that broke out at the Port of Benicia in the North Bay has been declared extinguished after burning for hours, destroying the dock and threatening to cause further damage in an area where gas and oil is offloaded.
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The fire, which began on Saturday at 12:20 p.m., was declared contained at 9:40 a.m. Sunday and was declared extinguished by 12:24 p.m., the City of Benicia revealed in a press release.
The fire erupted at the base of nearby petroleum coke silos, feeding off surrounding vegetation, and crept over to the underside of the pier structure at the 100 block of Bayshore Drive.
"Benicia Battalion Chief 11 arrived on scene and reported an active fire at the base of a petcoke silo, with fire burning up a conveyor belt towards a docked tanker ship," Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick reported. "Ultimately, the fire progressed to a fourth alarm, the maximum in the Solano County alarm matrix."
Fire crews worked through the night to contain the fire. They had difficulty extinguishing the blaze as the pier was constructed of large creosote coated timber covered by a thick asphalt road.
"The primary concern was the safety of the community," Chadwick said. "The biggest potential threat to the community was air quality. The smoke emitting from the fire contained particulate matter and the potential of toxicity from chemicals. We were fortunate in having continuous wind blowing from the west, allowing the smoke to blow towards the water and dissipate before impacting other populated areas."
Solano County Environmental Health staff were on scene all day Saturday performing mobile air monitoring, at no time did they register harmful readings, the city stated.
The U.S. Coast Guard is advising caution when navigating waterways nearby, urging all vessels to take it slow due to an unknown amount of debris in the water. 3,000 feet of boom is set to be deployed to help capture debris.
Fire crews from Solano County, Contra Costa and Napa counties aided Benicia to put out the blaze. Fire boats from San Francisco, Oakland, Port Chicago, Southern Marin, Tiburon and Redwood City also reported to the scene.
The Solano County Fire Investigation Unit is currently working to determine the cause and origin of the fire. Further updates will be provided as information becomes available.
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