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WDIV helicopter view of Friday's dockside drama.
Update, 5 p.m.: Careful with those acetylene torches, pros and amateurs alike.
A welder helping renovate the Boblo boat SS Ste. Claire may have sparked a devastating blaze at the historic steamship, The Detroit News says:
The boat, which was docked at Riverside Marina in Detroit, is believed to be a total loss.
Although the cause of the fire was not known, Detroit Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell said welding taking place on the mostly wooden boat at the time of the fire is the most likely culprit.
Original article, earlier Friday:
The last of the Boblo boats, the Ste. Claire, is a charred ruin after burning at its mooring at Riverside Marina. You can see how your childhood went up in flames via WDIV.
At this point there's not much to report, other than the boat, which was undergoing restoration work, at an unknown pace and stage of completion, looks to be a total loss, fully engulfed in flames. The question now will be whether it stays afloat.
1:25 p.m. update: Flames are out, but fireboats are continuing to pour water on the ship.
The vessel has been moored off a seawall at the marina since it was towed there in 2016, an event also carried live by local media.
The other Boblo boat, Columbia, was towed to New York state some years ago and is being restored.
"The flames took with them not only [the Ste. Claire's] wooden superstructure, but the memories of generations of Detroiters," local history raconteur Dan Austin says at the end of the craft's page on his Historic Detroit site. Asked on Facebook about any chance of rebuilding, he replies:
She's a total loss. People hadn't chalked up the money to restore her before the fire; now, the cost would be even higher.
Austin also tweets:
The memories of generations of Detroiters, mine included, have gone up in flames. We haven’t suffered such a loss of history in my lifetime. #Detroit #boblo pic.twitter.com/XkfcJekt4g
— HistoricDetroit.org (@HistoricDET) July 6, 2018