The fire began at dawn on the T-shaped pier, and within 10 minutes, flames had engulfed the entire pier, authorities said. There is no dollar estimate of damage, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. “There were flames 25 feet in the air, and huge clouds of smoke blew over the area,” said Paul Janetski, a cook at Dorn’s Original Breakers, a restaurant a few hundred yards from the pier. “Each time you saw a quick flare-up and a mass of smoke, you knew another boat caught fire.”
Nearly Drowned—An elderly man and woman jumped from their burning boat and were pulled out of the water by rescue crews, Ozzimo said. Naomi Griffith, 78, was reported in critical condition at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo after nearly drowning. Henry Pederson, 70, suffered hypothermia but was listed in good condition at the medical center.
The waterfront of Morro Bay, a town of about 10,000, 175 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is lined with restaurants and souvenir shops. But because the winds were blowing away from the shore and the tides were running out to sea, Ozzimo said, no businesses were damaged. “The winds often blow toward the shore around here, and if they had been blowing that way this morning, we would have lost quite a few businesses,” Ozzimo said. “We would have had a much worse fire to deal with. We were lucky with the tides too because when the burning boats broke away, they drifted out into the bay, away from shore.” Many of the fishermen and boat owners who lived aboard their vessels were eventually able to get their boats untied before the fire reached them.
The pier, which was built in 1981, is still standing, but the fire damage is so extensive that sections of the pier will have to be dismantled and reconstructed, authorities said. Because the pier was soaked with the petroleum-based material creosote–used to protect the wood from saltwater — the fire was extremely difficult to contain, Ozzimo said.
—Miles Corwin, Los Angeles Times, December 2, 1988
South T-Piers Facts
Hours: Open 24 hours a day.
Facilities: Free public parking is available at the front of the pier. The Great American Fish Company restaurant sits adjacent to the pier while Virg’s Landing, and bait, are found just past the restaurant. Lights are found on the pier but there are no restrooms or fish cleaning facilities.
Handicapped Facilities: The pier surface is wood planking with no rail but a 7.5-inch curb exists fairly close to the edge. Posted for handicapped. And some free handicapped parking is located a short distance from the pier.
Location: 1100 Embarcadero
How To Get There: From Highway 1 turn south onto Main Street, follow it to Morro Bay Boulevard, turn left toward the bay and follow it to Embarcadero, turn right and follow Embarcadero to the public parking which adjoins the piers.
Management: City of Morro Bay.