By Shakira Ericksen
SPECIAL TO THE HIGHLINE TIMES

It will be a long process to restore the Des Moines Marina back to normal.

The explosion that started the fire on June 23, caused up to $1.5 million in damage to the J Dock where the boat was moored.

The fire was caused by an accidental explosion aboard a 28’Bayliner power boat in slip J13. Two people were injured and taken to Harborview Medical Center for burn treatment.

Although only one boat sank, seven others were severely damaged. The boat the explosion occurred on sank but was quickly recovered. All other boats in danger of sinking were removed from the dock.

Because all the boats were removed quickly there were no oil spills or environmental damage. The seven boats declared a total loss were estimated at a value of $150,000 - $200,000.

The covered J Dock has structural damage and 32 slips underwent heavy smoke damage. Areas that the fire did not reach were still affected by heat and smoke damage.

The electrical system from J1-J31 was destroyed, seven finger floats were damaged, three beyond repair.

The damage to the roof of J Dock was extensive. Several parts of the aluminum roofing were vaporized leaving large holes.

Harbormaster Joe Dusenbury said that the marina clean-up is divided into two phases--the first one already in process.

Phase one included recovering the sunken boat, beginning roof clean up in smoke damaged slips, restoring power to the west end of the dock and facilitating a joint ‘Cause & Origin’ investigation for interested parties.

The boat the fire started on was fully insured and the marina’s insurance will also help pay for some of the damage.

City Manager Tony Piasecki said that Des Moines will work the Washington Cities Insurance Authority (WCIA) to process the claim.

Dusenbury said that they are already looking into replacing the damaged parts of the dock. “We’re facing 45 years of code changes,” said Dusenbury. “All replaced items must meet with the current code.”

Dusenbury estimated that the entire process would take anywhere from 18-24 months. The permitting process requires SEPA/JARPA and they will also have to work around fish windows.

Fish windows are times when the fish are migrating so underwater construction is halted. The period is from August to September.

“It’s a fairly narrow window to hit,” said Dusenbury. “Obviously we’re not going to hit it this year.”