A boat caught fire in Santa Cruz Harbor early Tuesday morning, causing a conflagration that destroyed two other boats.

The fire began just before 6 a.m. on a boat at the end of the U Dock in Upper Santa Cruz Harbor.

The cause of the fire is unknown, and fire inspectors were at the scene late Tuesday morning.

A man who was thought to be on board one of the boats that burned, and who was briefly considered missing, was found to be at work. 

Doug Schroedel, whose boat was moored next to the one where the fire started, said he woke up to at least two loud explosions just before 6 a.m. and saw an orange glow outside.

“The boat was engulfed in flames right next to me,” he said. 

Schroedel said he quickly got dressed and was trying to leave his boat 15 seconds later. 

Blocked from the dock by the intense heat, and hesitant to jump into the cold water, Schroedel clung to a piling as he cut away a dinghy with a knife, and then rowed to safety.

In addition to having his boat destroyed, Schroedel said he lost all his possessions in the fire.

Officials were planning to tow one of the damaged vessels to a boatyard to be extinguished, said Santa Cruz Fire Capt. Jason Hajduk.

Firefighters were limited in their access to the blaze to the narrow walkway of the dock under the darkness of the chilly night sky. A massive pillar of brown and black smoke rose above the blaze and wafted over the harbor, fully enveloping the Murray Street Bridge.

Dozens of onlookers stood by watching the boats burn.

“I heard two explosions and I looked out the porthole and screamed, ‘Oh my god, the dock is on fire,’” said one woman who did not want her name used.

Santa Cruz Fire teamed up with Santa Cruz Police in evacuating several surrounding docks. Central Fire Protection District also responded.    

A teenager jumped into action when he spotted a boat fire at the Chula Vista Marina Friday.

Stephen Gutierrez rushed onto the dock and banged on the door of the boat after he saw the smoke.
The 27-foot boat tied up to the dock at 550 Marina Pkwy caught fire just before 7:30 a.m.
​
Video from a mobile phone captured the white smoke that quickly filled the air.

When Gutierrez realized no one was inside, he and some other bystanders helped untie the burning boat from the dock.

They worked together to push it away so as to protect the other boats moored there.

Gutierrez said boat owners have to be looking out for each other.

"We're a family here, like boaters," he said. "You can't just stand by and let one another go through difficult times."

The teenager also recorded the boat's registration number.

Chula Vista Police officers say they've identified and are working to contact the boat owner.

​Fifteen boaters are safe Sunday night after a good Samaritan vessel saved them from their burning boat off Hawaii Kai’s Maunalua Bay.

Honolulu firefighters got the call of a boat in distress around 6:24 p.m., around the same time several viewers reported to KHON2 of a boat fire in the same location.

The ages of those saved ranged from mid 20s to 30s. All passengers were reported to be uninjured.

Firefighters say the boaters anchored the burning vessel, which is considered a total loss, before leaving it and radioed a call for help from the rescue boat.

The scorched boat is located out the first channel marker outside Maunalua Bay, several hundred yards offshore.

The Coast Guard also responded to the scene.

HFD says the owner of the boat is now responsible for the salvage of the burned wreckage.

Wilmington Fire crews responded to a boat fire at Bradley Creek Marina late Saturday.

Crews arrived to find a boat fully engulfed in flames. WFD crews say there was minor damage to nearby boats. One of the boat’s owners, April Jones, said it was a 37 foot cruisers yacht. They are not sure what happened.

Fire investigators have ruled the incident accidental, but have yet to determined a cause.

The boat was a total loss. No injuries were reported.

​NEW ROCHELLE - A New Year's Day fire at the New Rochelle marina destroyed two boats and left one person injured.

Both boats were tied to the dock at the time of the fire.

Consuelo Escobar, who was in the second boat with her boyfriend, said her boyfriend used a fire extinguisher to battle the flames in the first boat, but the wind caused the flames to spread to their boat.

"The fire kept coming and coming, and the wind was moving it a lot," Escobar said.

Her boyfriend untied his boat let it drift into the water.

"It was completely full of flames in the middle of the water," the witness said. "There was a thick, black smoke coming from both boats."

Escobar said her boyfriend was taken to the hospital with burns around his neck and face but said he should be OK.

The fire started shortly before 11:30 a.m. The fire in the first boat was put out quickly. The stern of the boat was still intact, but the front was charred and burned through.

Firefighters were still chasing flames in Escobar's boat at 1 p.m.