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Fire destroys boats, boathouse at south Seattle marina

SEATTLE — A heavily involved fire destroyed at least nine boats and a boathouse Friday night at the Jim Clark Marina in south Seattle.

Seattle firefighters were called after 9:30 p.m. to knock down the fire in the 1300 block of Southwest Spokane Street, where crews had limited access.

Fire officials said it took crews about 20 minutes to get the fire under control and about 90 minutes to extinguish it.

Because of burning debris that collapsed, it was unsafe for ecology crews to access marina piers and get an accurate count of the number of boats that burned and sank, the Washington Department of Ecology said.

Ecology officials said a boom was set up to contain oil that came from at least one vessel that sank during the fire.

There was also an oil sheen found on the Duwamish West Waterway and Elliott Bay that came from a boat that broke free overnight, officials said.

No injuries were reported.

Fire officials have not yet determined what started the fire but are investigating.