SAN DIEGO _ A three-alarm fire onboard the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard injured 17 sailors and four civilians Sunday morning and multiple agencies battled the blaze throughout the day.
A spokesman for Navy Region Southwest said the cause and location of the blaze and the extent of damage were not known as of Sunday afternoon.
The 17 sailors and four civilians were sent to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to a statement from Naval Surface Forces in San Diego.
According to the Navy, 160 sailors were aboard Sunday morning. All sailors have been evacuated from the ship and are accounted for, the Navy said in a statement. In total, about 1,000 sailors are assigned to the 840-foot ship, according to a Naval Surface Forces spokesman.
Fumes and black, gray and white smoke continued to billow from the ship for hours Sunday. At least a dozen fire engines and trucks were seen near the pier with at least six ambulances staged inside. Many people gathered on the pedestrian bridge linking the "dry" side of the base _ where many sailors live _ to the "wet" side across Harbor Drive.
The city of National City issued an advisory around 2:30 p.m. Sunday urging residents to stay indoors due to potential health impacts of the smoke plume.
The fire was reported shortly after 8:50 a.m., according to San Diego Fire-Rescue officials. The department said on Twitter that 150 firefighters were assigned to the blaze. A fire investigator also was dispatched.
All ships in port in San Diego have been directed to provide fire parties to assist in firefighting efforts, according to Mike Raney, a Navy spokesman.
On CNN, San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell said the ship could burn for days.
The cause of the fire is not known. People at the scene reported hearing an explosion.
Two other ships, guided-missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS Russell, were moored near the Bonhomme Richard but were moved early Sunday afternoon to berths farther away from the burning vessel, Raney said in a statement.
The ship was in drydock at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego last year and has been undergoing further maintenance pierside at Naval Base San Diego. Its last deployment was in 2018.
Amphibious assault ships are used to deploy Marines in amphibious landings. During operations, the ships conduct flight operations with helicopters and jet aircraft, such as the AV-8B Harrier and its replacement, the F-35 B Lightning.
While deployed, these ships carry more than 2,000 sailors and Marines.
