City of Oceanside declares local emergency due to pier fire (2024)

This is NBC 7's most updated story on the Oceanside Pier fire. For previous day coverage of the fire on the Oceanside Pier, click here

Oceanside city leaders declared a local emergency Wednesday due to the massive fire that erupted on the pier last week.

The Oceanside City Council voted 4-0, with Councilmember Rick Robinson absent, during a special meeting at 3 p.m. The local emergency is expected to continue until it is terminated by the city council, state of California or is no longer effective under state law, the resolution reads.

Several San Diego County legislators also sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, asking his administration to provide emergency funding to repair the Oceanside Pier.

Sens. Catherine Blakespear, Steve Padilla and Brian Jones and Assembly members David Alvarez, Brian Maienschein, Laurie Davies and Tasha Boerner penned the letter, saying they were "devastated" to see the landmark damaged.

"Since the late 19th century, the Oceanside Pier has served as a landmark of our coastal identity and maritime heritage in Southern California," the legislators wrote. "Rebuilding the historic pier as quickly as possible is paramount and will likely require financial support from the state of California."

It is still unknown what caused last Thursday's blaze, but it started at the northwest side of the pier's end, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The agency also ruled out arson as the possible cause.

"Preliminary investigation indicates it was accidental," ATF Los Angeles said Wednesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "No evidence of an intentional or an incendiary act."

The Oceanside Fire Department reached the same conclusion in their preliminary investigation on Monday.

The fire was completely out by Monday morning, Oceanside fire officials said in a press conference that afternoon.

"After this afternoon, operationally, we have nothing left to do from a firefighting standpoint, and we will fully transform into therecovery phase," Oceanside Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Jess Specht said said on Monday.

The flames were completely out by 7 a.m., with no smoke or fire, Specht added. Fire officials could not give a definitive cause of the pier fire by Monday, but it is most likely an accidental cause, said OFD Fire Chief David Parsons.

"And everything leads us to believe, based on canine (searches), reports, videos, witness interviews, fire dynamics, which is how fire moves, and then also patterns that we see in the structure ... that an incendiary liquid, which could be indicative of potential arson -- none of that's present," Parsons said.

NBC 7's Adonis Albright was in Oceanside Monday, where city leaders held a news conference about the fire investigation.

Investigators are working to determine more about what caused the fire, but at this time cannot rule out an electrical heat source, Parsons said.

Video evidence and witness interviews suggest that the fire started on the northwest side of the pier — possibly underneath the promenade deck — next to the former Ruby's Diner site, which was undergoing renovations at the time of the blaze, according to city officials.

A formal report on the investigation will be released to the public in at least a matter of weeks, but perhaps more, he said.

Just before the fire started, a restaurant on the pier, the Brine Box, was in operation with two people working at the time. Due to it being a small restaurant, they shared some operations with the former Ruby's Diner, a closed down, but not abandoned, restaurant on the pier, Parsons said.

Parsons emphasized that the old Ruby's was not an demolished building.

"Definitely not derelict, definitely not abandoned, just in a closed state awaiting permits and plans to get a new tenant into the space. Smoke alarms did activate in the Ruby's. Sprinkler system did activate in the Ruby's. Again, those are interior life safety systems not designed to stop a fire that's coming from the exterior," Parsons said.

"The fire suppression system that runs along the pier was brand new," Parsons said.

PHOTOS: Fire erupts on Oceanside Pier

"With that being said,as soon as possible, we are going to reopen the pier to the public, and we should have 75% of this pier back open to the public as quickly as possible," said OFD Division Chief Community Risk Reduction Blake Dorse said.

During an all-out multi-agency effort that continued for more than 24 hours, crews were able to save roughly 95% of the iconic 1,950-foot-long wooden structure, according to city officials. Emergency-services personnel from agencies across the county battled the flames from atop the burning pier, aboard a pair of firefighting boats and in water-dropping helicopters as the blaze sent a towering plume of black smoke to the east. The Coast Guard sent in a cutter to aid in handling the emergency.

Over the course of the around-the-clock firefight, crews put a "trench cut" in the deck, removing a section of it to allow for access to flames burning underneath it and to prevent the blaze from traveling any farther down the pier to the east, the fire chief said.

The city has been working with a contactor on installation of temporary fencing to block off the damaged end of the pier, allowing for a partial reopening during repairs, officials said.

Coast Guard-enforced restricted areas around the pier -- 100 yards for vessels and 100 feet for swimmers and surfers -- remained in effect this week.

Exactly when the public will regain access to the tourist-attraction structure remained unclear Monday, though city leaders were committed to reaching that goal "as quickly as possible," Parsons said.

At this time, there is no definite timeline on when the pier will be reopened, officials said.

Within minutes, it became clear that the fire on the Oceanside Pier would require help from across the county. Many agencies stepped in, including the U.S. Coast Guard. NBC 7's Dana Williams got an up-close look at how the crew on their cutter was able to save the pier.

Oceanside Mayor Sanchez speaks

"There is no other city that couldboastthis kind of public safety," Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez said at the press conference. Sanchez thanked local, state and federal agencies for stepping in to help.

"That is something that I've heard all over Oceanside, that we want her [the pier] back as soon as possible," Sanchez said.

Oceanside City Manager Jonathan Borrego said they expect Oceanside's city council to formally ratify an emergency proclamation this week which would allow the city to expedite its process of getting federal and state reimbursem*nt for the pier.

The wooden structure was first built in 1888 but has been destroyed twice in its lifetime, once in 1890 by rough seas and, after it was rebuilt, again in 1902.

Thursday's fire is not the first building to burn on the site. In 1976, "a fire broke out in the Pier Fish Market, located halfway out on the pier and in December the Pier Cafe was completely destroyed by fire," according to the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. The current pier was built in 1987.

In 2016, the Seal Beach Pier, which also housed a restaurant, caught fire, NBC 7's Jeanette Quezada reports.