No injuries reported in Boyne Thunder boat fire on Saturday

CHARLEVOIX — A speed boat participating in the Boyne Thunder Poker Run burst into flames on Lake Michigan on Saturday.

The engine compartment caught on fire not far from Charlevoix’s Big Rock Point and within three minutes the entire boat was completely engulfed in flames, according to Charlevoix Fire Chief Dan Thorp.

Although the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, the boat’s built-in fire suppression system was unable to counter the intensity of the blaze. The passengers on board leaped out of the vessel and were rescued by nearby Boyne Thunder power boat participants. No one was injured in the incident.

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The flames roared for three hours and proved to be a challenge for local firefighting efforts who had no fire boat or nearby water hydrant, reported Thorp.

“We were trying to get close enough to the boat to put the fire out," he said. "There was just no easy access to it."

Charlevoix Station’s Coast Guard assisted on the lake with their fire pump but were ultimately unequipped to tame the flames.

“There was about 100 gallons of fuel on the boat that kept reigniting,” Thorp said.

Fortunately, as the wind blew the blazing vessel closer to the shoreline, the Charlevoix Fire Department was able to extinguish the inferno as firefighters waded into the water and dowsed the boat with lake water funneled into a portable water system.

As of Sunday, July 10, the burnt-out remnants of the boat remain on the shoreline near Big Rock Point. There are removal efforts being coordinated with salvage company Lyons Marine Construction.

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Contact reporter Annie Doyle at adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne Thunder speed boat catches on fire near Charlevoix on July 9