Firefighters examine the charred remains of a boat that caught fire on Lake Elsinore Saturday. (Photo by Katja Zimmer)
Editor’s note: This story was updated regarding the rescue of the victims. It is not clear at this point who pulled them out of the water.
Reporting and photography by Emily Baierl and Katja Zimmer of Elsinore 24/7
Three people received minor to moderate injuries Saturday night when a boat caught fire on Lake Elsinore.
The fire in a small vessel in the middle of the lake was reported at 6:27 p.m., according to CAL FIRE officials. Three people on board ended up in the water before being rescued. Firefighters arrived in a Sheriff’s Department boat to put out the fire.
Before the firefighters arrived, a father and daughter in another boat pulled close in an attempt to help. Rod Madnick’s daughter told Elsinore 24/7 that her father tried to hit the flames with a fire extinguisher, but the heat was too severe to get too close.
After the victims were rescued and evaluated, one person was transported to a hospital with moderate injuries, according to a CAL FIRE spokesperson. Two others who received minor injuries declined medical transport.
When the boat was towed in to the dock at Launch Pointe just before 7:30 p.m., only a charred hull remained. Details of the source of the fire were not immediately available. The case is under investigation.
CAL FIRE reported that once the victims were rescued, firefighters were transported back to the scene via a Sheriff’s Department boat and conducted fire suppression using a portable pump from a reserve apparatus.
The burned-out boat tied to the dock at Launch Pointe. (Photo by Emily Baierl)
The charred boat is towed in by a Sheriff’s Department boat. (Photo by Katja Zimmer)
(Photo by Katja Zimmer)
(Photo by Emily Baierl)
(Photo by Katja Zimmer)
