PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — The United States Coast Guard is on its fourth day of trying to remove any pollution from the water at the Riviera Marina in Charlotte County, where 8 boats caught fire Friday afternoon.
People could see the thick smoke for hours near Punta Gorda, just west of Tamiami Trail.
Monday, we went back out on the scene and it was different compared to what it looked like the day the fire broke out and damaged a pack of boats at the Riviera Marina. It took crews about three hours to put out the fire on Friday afternoon, but days to contain the pollution.
Petty Officer First Class Ayala Hudson says crews contained the pollution Sunday and Monday and were just following up to make sure everything was clear.
“We are just out there trying to be good stewards of the environment," Officer Hudson said. "We’re trying to contain this pollution as much as possible trying to get it cleaned up Safely and quickly as possible.”
400 gallons of oil mixture was pulled out of the water, along with 300 pounds of observant containment boom that has been saturated with pollution. Officer Hudson added that she isn't sure how much of the oil was old, but she did say most of it was new after the boats caught fire Friday.
We asked her if the boats were operational or abandoned, and she said as far as she knows, most were not in the water very often.
Investigators are reporting no injuries as they work to find a cause.
