The Aftermath

There was a terrible fire at the Squalicum marina early Friday morning. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed, but as many as as ten large pleasure boats and their boathouses were destroyed.

A couple living aboard their 42-foot boat perished in the flames. It will be several days before the submerged debris is cleared to allow divers to search for the bodies.

According to the report in today's Bellingham Herald, firefighters had to walk a quarter of a mile from land to the site of fire. The Bellingham Fire Department's fire-fighting boat was decommissioned a few months ago because "it wasn't getting used enough to justify the cost of maintaining it".

There was a strong odor of diesel fuel and a sheen on the water today as the clean-up continued, and firefighters were still spraying water on the remaining hot spots.

We'd gone down to Squalicum for the opening of the newest TD Curran Apple store, hoping to win the raffle for a Powerbook. We were quite surprised by the size and diversity of the crowd there.

I'm glad I still have some Apple shares.