Boat Fire at Palmira Marina

Robin Aitken Hardy of the San Pedro-based trawler The Cat’s Meow sent us this report of a boat fire in Marina Palmira on October 20:

"The 80+-ft Mexico-flagged yacht Mi Barú was tied up to the end tie of Dock Two when a fire broke out around 9 a.m. Regular fire extinguishers were ineffective so the boat was pushed to a small dock on the breakwater, right behind the sailboat Sunbreak – with a woman, her two children, a dog, a cat and a turtle aboard. A young Mexican man in a dinghy took a man from the burning Mi Barú, then helped Marina Palmira workers tow Sunbreak – whose engine isn’t working – to another dock. 

"Fire trucks and the Pemex fire boat arrived on the breakwater to battle the blaze – I would say that every piece of firefighting equipment in La Paz was on the breakwater within 30 minutes. The firefighters fought with everything they had – and they do not have anything near what folks in the U.S. are used to in terms of equipment!

"They put themselves in harm’s way many times but weren’t able to put this fire out. They did manage to keep the boat tied to the dock, which kept the fire contained. Mi Barú was finally towed outside of the breakwater where it continued to burn off and on for another day."