OCEANSIDE — After nearly four days of battling flames, billowing smoke and smoldering embers, the city’s fire officials announced today that crews had fully extinguished a fire that erupted on the western end of Oceanside Pier.
Before the fire was snuffed out on Monday, the former Ruby’s Diner was charred to near rubble, the neighboring Brine Box food kiosk torched, and the western side of the hammerhead – referring to the shape of the pier’s protruding end – severely damaged. Underneath the blackened and hollow structures, roughly 95% of the pier remained intact.
Due to concerns about debris in the water, the surrounding beaches were closed to the public over the weekend, but county environmental health officials said the waters were safe for swimmers and surfers. Debris collection efforts are still underway.
Lifeguards first reported smoke from the former Ruby’s Diner at Ruby’s around 3 p.m. on April 25. Fire units were quickly dispatched and arrived at the scene five minutes later, evacuating everyone on the pier.
Hundreds of onlookers watched from land as the fire created a large, dark plume of smoke from the pier, visible from beaches as far south as Encinitas and Del Mar.
More than 100 firefighters, city staff and other local emergency personnel responded to the blaze, including mutual aid from the Vista and Carlsbad fire departments, Cal Fire, the U.S. Coast Guard, San Diego HazMat and San Diego Lifeguards, and cooperating agencies like Oceanside Police and San Diego Gas & Electric.
A combination of boats, two helicopters, and various fire engines contained the flames to the end of the pier by 6 p.m. that evening, and crews worked overnight and through the weekend to extinguish the fire.
According to OFD, no injuries were reported due to the blaze.
During a press conference Monday, Oceanside Fire Chief David Parsons said the department is teaming up with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the cause of the fire, and the inquiry will likely last several weeks.
Based on preliminary investigation findings, Parsons said the fire appeared to originate outside Ruby’s, somewhere near the exterior northwest corner of the building.
A canine trained to detect accelerants was deployed for potential signs of arson on the pier. However, Parsons said the dog found “no evidence of “an incendiary or intentional act.”
“The cause wasn’t ill-intentioned,” the fire chief said.
According to Parsons, existing evidence suggests the fire could have been accidental, but the exact cause — electrical, cooking, heating, smoking — has yet to be determined.
Parsons and several other city officials applauded the efforts of the city’s staff and the aid from other local, county, state and federal agencies.
“We couldn’t have done it without their help,” he said.
The Oceanside Fire Department arrived within five minutes of the first emergency call and launched extinguishing efforts within nine minutes.
SDG&E’s helicopter assisted fire crews by collecting water from the ocean to dump on the fire, and Manson Construction’s tugboat sprayed the burning structure from underneath the pier — both integral to firefighting efforts, Parson said.
The chief also said the pier’s newly installed fire suppression system “worked flawlessly.”
According to Division Chief Blake Dorse, the city plans to install portable lights along the pier until its lighting can be restored and intends to open at least 75% of the pier to the public as soon as possible.
City leaders also promised to reopen and rebuild the pier quickly.
“We want to rebuild as soon as possible,” said Mayor Esther Sanchez.
Deputy Mayor Ryan Keim said the City Council, united in its desire to restore the structure, will vote on Wednesday to ratify an emergency declaration for the pier.
“We stand together — we’re going to do everything we can to restore it,” Keim said.
Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano), state Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) and Assemblymember Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel) have also indicated their intentions to help funnel state and federal aid toward restoring the pier.
The Oceanside Pier has been destroyed and rebuilt five times since it was first constructed in 1888 at the end of what is now Wisconsin Avenue. In 1890, just two years after its construction, the entirely wooden 300-foot-long pier was destroyed in a storm.
The next five piers, including the current one, were built at the end of Pier View Way. The original pier’s replacement was built in 1896 and lasted six years before it was also destroyed by severe weather.
The current pier was built in 1987 and is 1,954 feet long, making it one of the longest piers on the West Coast, according to the city.
