Fishing vessel catches fire in Homer harbor

A fishing vessel was engulfed in flames early Thursday at the Homer Port and Harbor, resulting in what the harbormaster there believes is "a complete loss" of the boat.

Someone called 911 to report the fire around 1 a.m., Harbormaster Bryan Hawkins said.

"It was reported that they heard an explosion and saw fire," Hawkins said. That first call was followed closely by another call to police from a harbor officer, he said.

The cause of the fire aboard the 32-foot Linda Kay is not yet known, he said, and there were no reports of injuries or damage to other vessels or the dock. The Linda Kay was docked at D float, near the Salty Dawg Saloon, Hawkins said.

The Homer Volunteer Fire Department, which Hawkins said was the agency that responded to the call and quickly controlled the fire, did not return a call seeking comment for this story.

Tammy and Louie Gjosund, the owners of the Linda Kay, live in Anchorage but go down to Homer "several times a month," Tammy Gjosund said by phone Thursday.

"I look at it, and it's just devastating," she said, adding that she and her husband had the Bristol Bay gillnetter built for them two years ago.

"We keep it in the water because we take it out in the winter just to relax on it," as well as using it for fishing, she said. They drove down from Anchorage Thursday morning as soon as they got the call about the fire.

Neither Hawkins nor Gjosund had any explanation for the cause of the fire. The Linda Kay was pulled out of the water and placed in a boatyard Thursday.