Burned boat pulled from Juneau harbor, but the fire is still under investigation

The 42-foot boat that caught fire and sank into the waters of a busy Juneau harbor was raised Friday, but how it came to be destroyed remains unknown.

Contractors lifted the boat, Whimsea, from the waters of Statter Harbor in Juneau, placing it aboard a barge, where an estimated 600 gallons of oily water was pumped from the wreckage into portable tanks, according to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation.

That raising effort concluded four days after flames erupted on the Whimsea; the June 27 fire sank the boat and sent the owner, Gary Wilkins, to Anchorage for medical treatment, officials said.

[Owner badly hurt when boat catches fire and sinks in Juneau]

Wilkins was initially in critical condition when he reached Providence Alaska Medical Center. By Wednesday morning, his status had been upgraded to serious. And by Monday, he'd been treated and released, according to a hospital spokesman.

Juneau Fire Marshal Dan Jager said he hoped to speak with Wilkins to learn more about the fire and what may have caused it. Jager said investigators have not ruled out arson, but the incident could have resulted from an electrical or a mechanical failure.

"We were present at the raising (of the boat) but we weren't able to take a look at it, because it went straight onto the barge," Jager said. "We should be able to investigate it Wednesday morning."

Wilkins also owns a truck that burned in the parking lot of Statter Harbor on June 15. That could have been arson too, Jager said.

DEC said the cleanup job mostly is done — the C dock at Statter Harbor is once again open to the public. The department said a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast office in Juneau plans to continue a radio broadcast telling fishing vessels moored in the harbor not to use the harbor's waters on their boats.

"As a precaution, members of the public are also advised not to use harbor water on their vessels until the absorbent sweep at C dock has been inspected and removed," DEC said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the boat owner's name as Gay Wilkins. His name is Gary Wilkins.