LA CONNER, Wash. — Cleanup and salvage crews worked for hours at Shelter Bay Marina in La Conner to keep oil and diesel in check and recover six sunken boats.
Skagit County Deputy Fire Marshal Kevin Noyes said it's still unclear how many boats were damaged by the heat, flames, and smoke of a massive fire that broke out at one of the docks late Friday afternoon.
PHOTOS: Multiple boats engulfed by flames in Skagit County marina
"I told Carol, nothing we can do," Pat McGarry said, describing the moments he tried to rescue his boat, Footprints in the Sand. "It's gone."
McGarry and his wife Carol said their boat was a home away from home. He said he had been on it just an hour before the fire, installing new blinds.
He raced back after his wife spotted the black smoke.
"With the dock on fire, he could not get through to our boat, going down the dock," she said. "So frustrating."
McGarry also tried to reach the boat via his skiff, but it was already on fire.
Skagit County Deputy Fire Marshal Kevin Noyes said divers have been searching the boats and the water for evidence.
Once the sunken boats are removed over the next few days, he said, investigators will examine them closely at another location.
"We're looking at millions of dollars,” Noyes said. "Each boat, it could be anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 or higher."
KIRO 7 asked McGarry if he plans to watch crews bring up his boat.
"Oh yeah, I'll watch," he said, "but there isn't much left."
Noyes said it won't be until next week at the very earliest when fire officials determine the cause of the fire.
The Washington State Department of Ecology said Friday that an undetermined amount of fuel has been released into the water and that three layers of oil containment boom and absorbent are being used to reduce the spread of pollution.
Ecology officials said the impact on the environment is still unclear at this point.