TAYLORS ISLAND, MD - The Office of the State Fire Marshal of Maryland is investigating a fire that destroyed three parked boats last weekend and damaged about an acre of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
According to the Fire Marshal, the fire originated in the side console of one of the boats parked on a wooded lot on November 12th just after 3 a.m. The fire then spread, causing a wildland fire in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Approximately one acre of the Refuge was burned, the Fire Marshal says.
It took 10 members of the Taylors Island Volunteer Fire Department about 40 minutes to control the flames. Damage to the three boats is estimated at $50,000.
The exact cause of the fire is under investigation, and the Fire Marshal says both State and Federal Forestry services are assisting.
