OLYMPIA, Wash. — Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are on the ground in Ilwaco after a fire tore through a commercial fishing facility earlier in the week.
The investigation is happening as the start of coastal commercial Dungeness crab season approaches.
Pacific County is working with the ATF and a Pierce County Marine Fire investigator to determine the cause of a fire that sent flames roaring into the sky – the black smoke could be seen for miles.
“It’s a really big deal. A lot of the community is supported by the fishermen, the cannery, and the cannery workers. It’s the livelihood of the whole area,” commercial fisherman George Pederson told KING 5 Monday.
The coastal Dungeness crab industry is one of the most important commercial fisheries in the state, according to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) – last year, crews brought in more than $64.5 million statewide. Now, crews are scrambling ahead of opening day.
“As of Tuesday, it was looking like about 3,750 pots were destroyed, and of those, about 11 hundred of those had Washington buoy tags that needed to be replaced,” said Bridget Mire, a WDFW spokesperson.
With cash donations and replacement pots pouring in, Mire says her department is working overtime to replace tags for each and every pot lost.
“We are dedicated to getting those crabbers out on the water when the season opens on Feb. 1 with a full complement of gear,” Mire continued.
According to Pacific County, many of the buildings burned were made of steel – complicating firefighting efforts.
“It held the heat in, it increased the amount of destruction within the building and then all of it collapsed into the dock and so it held the heat in on the dock and made it difficult to get water through the dock and increased the amount of destruction,” said Scott McDougal of the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency.
And as the investigation moves forward – the commercial fishermen and the community that supports them are preparing for opening day.
“Everybody works together and we’re very resilient people because we make sure that we help out our neighbors,” McDougal said.