Shortly after 3pm on Thursday April 25, witnesses reported smoke coming from the former site of Ruby’s Diner on the end of the Oceanside pier in San Diego.
The historic pier despite efforts from ground crews and water-based fire vessels, the wooden pier continued to burn for several more hours as ground units called in the assistance of aerial assets to assist. The blaze forced the evacuation of the pier as hundreds of onlookers watched from the street.
An aerial firefighting Bell 205 from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department/CAL FIRE joint response unit arrived on the scene completing 22 water drops on the fire along with the arrival of San Diego Gas and Electric’s S-64 AirCrane, who both assisted ground and marine units in getting the fire under control over the next several hours.
As of 10 pm, ground crews and marine units were still working to extinguish the fire completely overnight.
This is the second fire to affect the Oceanside Pier, the first in 1976 also occurred in a restaurant located on the pier structure. The pier was rebuilt in 1987 when the now-closed Ruby’s where the fire originated was built.
