The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.) — The Coast Guard continues its investigation into the cause of a boat fire on Tahoe Queen on Lake Tahoe on Wednesday.
The fire occurred on the 119-foot passenger vessel in Zephyr Cove on Tuesday morning.
The vessel has been thoroughly examined by Coast Guard passenger vessel marine inspectors from Sector San Francisco to ensure that it is structurally sound and poses no threat to the public. The Coast Guard will continue to monitor the condition of the vessel throughout the investigation.
The vessel has approximately 800 gallons of diesel fuel and 100 gallons of hydraulic oil onboard, none of which was lost during the blaze.
"Most of the fire damage is limited to the boat's pilothouse and second deck," said Lt. Jake Aulner, chief of Sector San Francisco's domestic vessel inspection branch. "This can be attributed to the tremendous response by Tahoe Douglas Fire Department to quickly extinguish the fire before it spread to the fuel tanks below."
The Coast Guard's efforts are to minimize the impact to the marine environment through the cooperation of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, monitor the vessels structural integrity to ensure it poses no further danger to the public and conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire with the local fire marshals.
