A helicopter drops water as fire crews fight a fire burning at the end of the Oceanside Municipal Pier in Oceanside on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
By Teri Figueroa, Phil Diehl and Karen Kucher
Fire tore through a vacant restaurant at the end of the Oceanside Municipal Pier Thursday afternoon, causing “significant damage” and continuing to smolder and burn long after crews had the fire under control.
Lifeguards spotted the fire just after 3 p.m. at the building that had once housed Ruby’s Diner. Images shared on social media showed a large black plume of smoke rising above the end of the iconic pier, creating a spectacle for anyone in the area.
Three hours later, crews had stopped the fire’s forward progress, but it was still burning, primarily underneath the pier, Oceanside Fire Department Chief David Parsons said.
No injuries were reported, and the employees from the nearby bait shop and Brine Box restaurant were all accounted for.
Most of the damage appears to be contained to the “hammerhead” shape at the end of the pier and stretching about 15 feet down the walkway toward the shore, the fire chief said.
Parsons said the fire caused “significant damage” to the shuttered diner, the neighboring Brine Box, the deck of the hammerhead and the structural support underneath it.
Parsons said the fire was “an all-hands-on-deck” situation. The response included 144 firefighters, 30 lifeguards and 32 police officers. A construction company on-site to dredge the harbor also sent a boat to help.
“We have thrown a lot of resources at this,” Parsons said. “The pier is a very special place for us.”
At one point, he said, officials feared the whole pier could be lost to fire, and he credited the large response from other agencies for helping save it.
Oceanside firefighters were on the scene within minutes, soon followed by crews from Vista, Carlsbad and several other agencies. San Diego Gas & Electric and Sheriff’s Department helicopters dropped water from above, and the Coast Guard sent a cutter to douse with water from underneath. On the ground, fire crews pulled hoses down the 1,954-foot-long pier.
The chief told reporters at a 7 p.m. news briefing that although the fire was still burning, officials believe they have it under control. Crews will stay at the scene through the night.
Power to the pier is out, so crews will place warning lights along the edges to alert boaters so they don’t run into it. Officials also closed a small section of the beach south of the pier for safety reasons, because debris was washing up on shore.
Parsons said officials have asked experts at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for help determining what started the fire.
“We do not know where the fire started,” said Jessica Waite, who operates the Brine Box, the fresh fish shack that was badly damaged. “What I hear is it was underneath the pier.”
She said the two or three Brine Box employees working at the time were able to get away safely when the fire broke out.
“It was really scary for our team and for our chef,” she said. “I do know that everybody is safe.”
About 90 minutes after the fire was reported, white smoke began to replace the black smoke — but it remained so thick that the end of the pier was obscured from view. Parsons said onshore winds pushed smoke from the end of the pier toward the shore.
The sight of smoke drew longtime residents Richard and Karen Sonayda from their home about a mile from the pier.
“I’m devastated right now,” Richard Sonayda said. “I surfed and fished on the pier when I was a little boy.”
“This is our home,” Karen Sonayda added.
One user on X, formerly called Twitter, recalled taking trips to Oceanside to eat at the 1950s-style diner. “I remember how it would rock and sway with the waves,” the user wrote. “Totally trippy experience but cool.”
Oceanside has had a pier along the shoreline since 1888. The one there now is the sixth version, built in 1986 to replace one destroyed by storms.
“This is a very, very critical pier for us,” Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez said at a press briefing. “It’s iconic for Oceanside.”
She said this was the first fire of this size to hit the pier.
The fire comes with Memorial Day — seen as the unofficial start of summer — about a month away, and the pier is a star attraction for Oceanside. Parsons said it’s not clear when it will reopen to the public because it will need to be evaluated by a structural engineer.
Last year, the city wrapped up a $5.6 million project to install new lines on the pier for potable water, wastewater, electrical and communications.
The concrete-and-steel access ramp known as the Pier View Way Bridge has been there since 1927. There are plans in the works to replace the bridge and the lifeguard headquarters underneath the pier, but that $40 million project is several years off.
The city is also planning to renovate or replace other aging facilities near the pier, including the Junior Seau Beach community center, the amphitheater and the bandshell.
For 25 years, Ruby’s Diner sat at the end of the pier, but it was reduced to takeout only when the pandemic hit in March 2020. It permanently closed in March 2021. It’s not clear how badly it was damaged by Thursday’s fire. About eight years ago, fire destroyed a long vacant Ruby’s Diner at the end of the Seal Beach Pier in Orange County.
Oceanside’s mayor said the city will want to repair the pier as soon as possible. Offers for assistance have already come in from U.S. Rep. Mike Levin and state Sen. Catherine Blakespear, both of whom represent the area.
Staff writer Lyndsay Winkley contributed to this report.
