Sailboat destroyed by fire ignited by lightning strike

Sailboat destroyed by fire ignited by lightning strike

PENTWATER — A small sailboat was destroyed by a fire that was ignited by a lightning strike Thursday. Aug. 17, shortly after 6:30 a.m., according to Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.

Emergency crews were dispatched to a sailboat “fully-engulfed” by fire on Pentwater Lake near Chester Street during an “active thunderstorm,” said Sheriff Mast. Lightning hit the sailboat’s mast, igniting the fire.

No one was injured in the blaze, but the boat is a total loss, said the sheriff. 

Pentwater firefighters “knocked down” the fire with fire extinguishers and then completely extinguished it with water after it was towed to the Pentwater Municipal Marina, he said.

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