OCEANSIDE — A fire erupted today on the far seaward end of the Oceanside Pier, sending a thick plume of smoke into the air over the coastal haven.
The Oceanside Fire Department reported that the fire broke out for unknown reasons shortly after 3 p.m. in a large, vacant building atop the pier. Fire officials urged the public to stay clear of the area for safety reasons. The burning commercial building previously housed Ruby’s Diner, which closed three years ago.
An hour into the fire, live footage from the scene showed clouds of gray smoke continuing to boil to the east out of the large structure and off the end of the pier itself. Patches of flames were also burning inside the building and on an adjacent section of the deck as two firefighting boats doused the structure from underneath with high-powered hoses.
#Video #OceansidePier #OceansideFire #Oceanside #ShotOniPhone #StormHour #ThePhotoHour #CAWX pic.twitter.com/xx6ERVrhFT
— Rich Cruse (@RichOnOWN) April 25, 2024
An hour into the fire, live footage from a television news aircraft showed clouds of gray smoke continuing to boil east out of the large structure where the restaurant once operated and off the end of the pier. Patches of flames also burned inside the building and on an adjacent deck section as two firefighting boats doused the structure from underneath with high-powered hoses.
By 4:30 p.m., a Coast Guard cutter and a water-dropping helicopter had arrived to aid the firefight. Additional air support was considered en route, possibly including equipment from Camp Pendleton.
There were no immediate reports of injuries due to the blaze.
The 1,950-foot-long wooden sea pier is billed as the longest on the West Coast. The original structure, built in the 1880s, fell to a storm in 1890. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1896, then destroyed again in 1902. The most recent version opened to the public in 1987.
