Marina fire destroys 3 boats

Three boats were destroyed and two damaged in a fire that caused $1 million in damage Thursday morning at the Lake Mead Marina.

Marina employees spotted the blaze at 6:30 a.m. Flames engulfed a boat and spread to several others in the Spyglass portion of B-Dock before the fire was extinguished.

No injuries were reported.

"In windy conditions, we were quite fortunate that only three (boats) were lost and two damaged," said Roxanne Dey, spokeswoman for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

A witness reported hearing an explosion at about 6:30 a.m., The Associated Press said.

Authorities pinpointed the boat on which the fire started and said the owner was not on board when it ignited, Dey said. The cause of the blaze is still being investigated.

The fire won't affect public access to the 1,350-slip complex during Memorial Day weekend, nor to the boat launch about a mile away, she said.

In February, the Grifentog family moved the Lake Mead Marina from Boulder Harbor and combined it with the Las Vegas Boat Harbor Marina. The family has run local marinas for 50 years.

Bruce Nelson, a manager at the company, praised marina employees for quick action that helped quell the blaze before park rangers and firefighters arrived.

Equipped with pumps and high-powered hoses, they fought the flames and shifted boats away from the fire, Nelson said.

"They do train for fires," he said. "This being on the extraordinary side, to be frank."