ILWACO, Wash. — Zeke Estrella survived a boat sinking in the Pacific Ocean.
Estrella said Monday’s fire at Ilwaco Landing was worse.
“We lost 570 crab pots,” said Estrella, captain of the F/V Sunset Charge.
The fire destroyed thousands of crab pots stored on the landing ahead of the start of commercial Dungeness crab season next week. About 8,500 crab pots on the deck were surrounding the building at the time of the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives along with Pierce County fire investigators. Officials have not released a cause for the fire or the total amount of damage.
Estrella said despite the losses, he expects to replace all of his lost pots by Monday thanks to donations and volunteer work from crabbers up and down the West Coast.
Twenty volunteers showed up Thursday to his Ilwaco property bringing pots, buoys, and ropes.
“I can’t express it,” Estrella said. “There’s more help available than I can use.”
Estrella’s niece designed a sweatshirt to help raise funds for impacted crabbers. Several community members and fishing organizations have launched social media campaigns to rally supplies and generate donations.
Nancy Miller, whose father was a fisherman, got friends together to make ham and cheese sandwiches for the crabbers working to replace pots.
“We’re a small community," Miller said. "Part of that income is what fuels the community. When you have a situation like this, it becomes everyone’s problem.”
Commercial crabbers can drop pots in the Pacific starting Monday at 8 a.m. They can be retrieved Thursday at 9 a.m., according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.