Diners Trapped as Small Fire Burns Hole in Seal Beach Pier

A small fire probably caused by a discarded cigarette trapped dozens of restaurant patrons Saturday night on the Seal Beach Pier as flames burned a 4-foot-by-4-foot hole through the floor of the wooden structure, authorities said.

Customers at the Ruby’s restaurant at the end of the pier waited for more than half an hour as a fireboat and firefighters on land brought the small blaze under control.

Authorities were alerted to flames in the middle of the pier about 6:40 p.m. and dispatched about 30 firefighters, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Paul Hunter. Investigators determined that the blaze was caused by a hot object, probably a cigarette, Hunter said.

In 1992, a fire sparked by wires in a lifeguard tower burned the middle of the pier, and the same area burned again in 1994, temporarily closing part of the structure.