Marina fire destroys boat, damages dock at Wappapello Lake - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

A fuel dock fire at Sundowner Marine at Wappapello Lake destroyed a boat and damaged a dock.

The Army Corps of Engineers got a call about the fuel dock on fire around 12:15 p.m., according to James Gracey, the assistant operations manager with the Army Corps of Engineers with Wappapello Lake.

When the Army Corps arrived, the dock was engulfed in flames. The fire is now out. The dock and dock store sustained damage.

A pontoon boat owned by the owner of the marina was destroyed. Several boats were also towed out of the marina for safety.

The owner of the marina turned off the fuel pumps. Gracey says no fuel or any other oil made it into the water.

The owner of Sundowner Marina says she's still in shock. She says they've owned the place since the 1970s and never had a fire there.

Tracy Brotherton and her family own the marina on Lake Wappapello.

She says she's thankful the community helped put out today's fire.

"I couldn't believe this is happening, because it was just atrocious, it was just huge. And I was afraid the whole dock was going to blow up," said Brotherton.

Brotherton says she feels very lucky no one was hurt or killed in the fire.

But she says it did ruin one on their pontoon boats, her office and the fueling station. So, she says she doesn't know where they'll go from here.

"I don't know, this just happened a few hours ago, so I don't know, we'll find out," said Brotherton. "But it's going to certainly affect, you know everything."

The boat ramp and the marina should still be open.

No word on a cause of the fire. The state fire marshal and ATF have been called to investigate. The Wayne County Sheriff's Department and Missouri Highway Patrol are also investigating.

Puxico and Wappapello Lake volunteer fire departments responded to the fire.

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