An ocean rescue after a boat catches fire off the SLO County coast.
A boat with four people on board caught fire and sank along the North Coast on Saturday afternoon. The 24-foot recreational boat caught fire around noon and four passengers had to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in Morro Bay.
According to Coast Guard spokesperson Richard Yranga, the Coast Guard was initially dispatched to the boat at 9:30 a.m. due to disablement issues. The boat was 200 to 400 yards off the coast of Cambria at the time. At around 10:30 a.m., the Coast Guard began the process of towing the boat back to its Morro Bay station. Yranga said while in transit, and about 5 miles off the coast of Cayucos, the passengers attempted to restart the engine while the boat’s anchor was caught onto one of its propellers. Moments later, smoke began to emerge from the engine and the fire erupted. The Coast Guard then disconnected the tow from the boat and began evacuating the passengers.
After being brought back to shore by the Coast Guard, the passengers were evaluated by the Morro Bay Fire Department and Harbor Patrol. One of the passengers was then taken to a hospital in San Luis Obispo for minor burn injuries.