Local News in Brief : Countywide : Explosion, Fire Damage Boat, Dock in Avalon

A Huntington Beach man’s 33-foot cabin cruiser exploded into flames Sunday at a fuel dock in Avalon Harbor, but both the boat owner and his two passengers from Orange County escaped without injury, authorities said.

George Dickerson, 70, and his guest, Michael Bailey, 30, of El Toro, were able to scramble onto these docks when “Spud Tub” exploded at 4:21 p.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Denny Boyd said.

Another guest, 44-year-old Jutta Gebauer, also of El Toro, was thrown into the water by the force of the explosion, authorities said. But she was rescued a short time later by an off-duty Avalon fireman, Boyd said.

The flaming boat was towed to the middle of the harbor, where firefighters put out the blaze. Creosote-coated pilings on the fuel dock also caught fire in the explosion and burned for nearly an hour, fire officials said.

“It’s a miracle that no one was hurt and they got it away from it, and that the (entire) fueling dock didn’t catch on fire,” said eyewitness Carol Rapson of Avalon. “I heard the explosion, and I looked out . . . It was aflame from the flying bridge to the stern.”

Damage to the boat was estimated at $50,000, and damage to the dock and pilings was put at about $30,000. Authorities said the fuel dock may remain closed today, the final day of the busy holiday weekend.