Coast Guard credits Samaritan in boat fire rescue

A boat fire near Carnelian Bay at Lake Tahoe saw the rescue of six people and a dog on Sunday afternoon.

According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, their Marine Patrol deputies responded to the fire near Cedar Flat.

“When we arrived, the boat was engulfed in flames,” according to the Sheriff’s Office’s social media post. “Our deputies kept boaters away and quickly set up the de-watering pump to use as a hose. They began spraying water on the boat, before picking up two North Tahoe Firefighters from a nearby dock. A fire boat crew from the North Lake Tahoe Fire Department also arrived.”

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, a Samaritan boater picked up four of the people and the dog, while a Coast Guard crew aboard a 29-foot response boat from Station Lake Tahoe rescued two others.

The owner of the boat called the Coast Guard directly via cell phone at 1:45 p.m., before jumping overboard and losing phone connection.

North Tahoe Firefighters responded to the boat fire, pushed the boat ashore and extinguished the fire on shore.

No injuries nor pollution were reported.

A few hours later a kayaker was reported 90 minutes overdue from Round Hill Beach.

Douglas County Sheriff’s, Tahoe-Douglas and South Lake Tahoe patrol boats responded 4:30 p.m. to the east shore of the Lake to look for the kayaker.

After about an hour calling a cell phone number, deputies were able to contact the kayaker, who was in a vehicle on Highway 50 headed for Carson City.