Propane Torch Started Yacht Fire

A Lake Union fire that caused $1.3 million in damage yesterday was started by a workman on a boat using a propane torch in a cedar-lined closet, fire officials said today.

Black smoke and flames could be seen for miles as an 85-foot yacht, moored at Lake Union, burned yesterday morning.

Damage from the three-alarm fire included $800,000 to the boat and $500,000 to its covered moorage in the 1500 block of Eastlake Avenue East at the southeast corner of the lake.

The blaze erupted aboard The Lark shortly before 9 a.m., according to Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Georgia Dean.

The workman on the boat was repairing a heater damaged in last December's storms, said Capt. Bill Hepburn of the arson squad.

The fire burned away the main salon and the deck house, he said. Although the boat was not burned to the waterline, it is considered damaged beyond repair.

Lois Warns was visiting friends Kathy and Steve Hughes, who live on a houseboat just two doors from the fire. But Warns said it was not until they heard a neighbor yelling, "Get out! Get out!" that they became aware of the fire.

"I stepped out the door and suddenly there was ash raining on me and smoke billowing and flames," Warns said. "Kathy grabbed her baby and I grabbed our purses and we ran. It was just too close."

Firefighters contained the blaze within 45 minutes of the call, but Deputy Chief Gregory Dean said there was concern it would spread to other houseboats or jump to nearby Lake Union Drydock Co.

"We've got a wooden dock, a wooden pier, wood soaked in creosote and a lot of buildings close together. A fire could very easily spread," he said. "Additionally, we had to prepare against the possibility of an explosion because the boat was loaded down with diesel fuel."

The Lark was said to be carrying between 1,500 and 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel. As a precaution against a spill, a containment boom was set by the Coast Guard.

Actress Julie Andrews once owned the yacht. The current owner, Bruce Vorhauer of Montana, was unavailable for comment but authorities said he usually kept his boat in Seattle.

He reportedly was in Seattle for the weekend to supervise repairs. The boat was for sale. Hepburn said there was insurance on the boat, but not enough to cover the entire loss.

-- Times staff reporter Dee Norton contributed to this report.