Huge Fire Threatens SF's Fisherman's Wharf

A towering fire engulfed a warehouse on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf early Saturday, sending a thick plume of smoke over the waterfront and threatening to spread to a historic World War II-era ship before firefighters brought the flames under control.

No injuries were reported and firefighters were making multiple searches to ensure no one was inside the building on Pier 45.

Fire investigators were trying to determine whether homeless people were inside.

More than 130 firefighters fought the flames beginning around 4 am, with some using ladder trucks to drench the warehouse from above. A fire boat was used to protect the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a liberty ship that stormed Normandy on D-Day in 1944.

“Our firefighters absolutely saved the SS Jeremiah O’Brien during this fire as flames were pinching on the side of this vessel,” Baxter said.

The ship docks by Pier 45 and is among numerous tourist attractions on the wharf, a maritime hub for cruises around San Francisco Bay as well as fishing boats hauling in the catch of the day. 

Shops and restaurants on the wharf have been shut by the city’s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus and were expected to reopen on May 31. Fishing companies that have been operating out of Pier 45 said the fire exacerbated an already tough business climate caused by the pandemic.