USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Carrier is on fire at San Diego

[StormILM]

USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Carrier is on fire at San Diego Naval Base. The fire is midship in the hangar deck. There are reports of injuries but no further information at this time. I hope and pray no lives were lost and for the safety of the responding fire crews from the base and SDFD.

 

[n4gix]

I heard on the news that all but the fire team have been evacuated to shore. I pray for everyone involved.

 

[StormILM]

As of this hour, She's still burning. It appears the fire has spread to lower decks and aft. I also saw smoke venting from the superstructure. So far, 21 injured, none seriously which is good news.

 

[n4gix]

As of this hour, She's still burning. It appears the fire has spread to lower decks and aft. I also saw smoke venting from the superstructure. So far, 21 injured, none seriously which is good news.

I've been watching the live feed off and on for the past six hours. From what I've seen the fireboats on the starboard side are doing a really terrific job of putting water on the...

...water. They aren't even getting into the carrier!

 

[MaskRider]

Latest pictures show her down at the bow. According to reports the fires started amidships, below the water line. WRT the fire team having been evacuated to shore, according to some reports the decision may have been made to let the fire burn itself out. Which may mean that they have decided to write her off. Either way looks like she'll be in the yards for a hair longer than planned.

Thank goodness, so far, no deaths. 23 taken to hospital with undefined injuries.

 

[Roxane-21]

From what I've seen the fireboats on the starboard side are doing a really terrific job of putting water on the...

...water. They aren't even getting into the carrier!

Probably cooling down the hull next to areas where fire is burning inside the ship ? This is obviously what they are doing on the picture StormILM posted.

 

[Ganter]

Only non-life threatening injuries so far thank goodness.

Some dramatic pics;

 

[Mike71]

Only non-life threatening injuries so far thank goodness.

-----

From what I see from latest info, the ship was undergoing a pierside availability maintenance / modernization period, typically referred to as an "SRA" or Ship Restricted Availability", i.e., the ship is officially not able to rapidly deploy and is sort of an accounting system DoD uses to keep track of what assets are readily available at any time. Any aircraft or ordnance is off-loaded before the start of work.

My fellow squid and Marine bubbas here are likely familiar with this process. Unlike going into a shipyard and or dry dock for an extensive upkeep period, these pierside events are usually about three months, and a lot of the crew is often moved off to make room for all the "sand crab" heavy contract work is done by specialized groups of civil service and contracted workers. A liberal leave posture is also in place because manning levels for an operational sortie are not required.

During a normal week, most of the ship's crew may be back on board for a normal workday and doing some of their own upkeep work they are capable of doing - some painting, low level maintenance etc. Others may be off for training and other events.

In summary, there is an old saying that applies here: " -- the only thing to look forward to in a shipyard is fires and flooding--"

On a Sunday, likely the only Navy personnel on the ship were some minor security and fire watches. A lot of the responsibility for the condition of the ship has been shifted to the Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding in that local area, who manages the SRA process.

I can only speculate, but careless temporary storage of materials / equipment in the well deck area ,or even sabotage, are possibilities. Remember the nuke sub at Portsmouth that was torched by a yard bird so he could get off early on a Friday?

This is going to be a big operational and financial blow to the Navy/Marine Corps team amphibious readiness posture. Think of this - you can scrape and repaint metal that has been in a fire area, but the unbelievably extensive electrical cable runs in any warship can get burned through, and they are very difficult and expensive to fix. Anyone who has walked through the passageways of a warship, even a visitor, has probably noticed these extensive "bundles" running along the overhead to various parts of the ship.

 

[Motormouse]

Thread on PPrune, with pictures.

https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/633983-fire-uss-bonhomme-richard-lhd-6-12-jul-20-a-2.html

Ttfn

Pete

 

[n4gix]

Probably cooling down the hull next to areas where fire is burning inside the ship ? This is obviously what they are doing on the picture StormILM posted.

Thank you. I did read and view all of the available reports and that is what they were doing. According to some of the latest reports, the island has begin melting and this will likely result in a total and un-repairable loss of the vessel.

 

[johannesl]

I live about 4 miles from the base and saw the smoke yesterday morning and figured it was not the usual coastal clouds but something more serious. Then the wind shifted in the evening and the air got a little hazier and you could smell it and this morning I can still smell it. I have family who live 15 miles inland that could smell it too.

 

[TARPSBird]

A pic from early this AM. Fire moved up into the "island" superstructure and the forward mast has collapsed. I suspect the ship will be written off as a total loss.

 

[gray eagle]

Live coverage of USS Bon Homme Richard fire