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4w ago

128-Year-Old Vancouver Island Shipwreck Damaged by Fire as Investigation Continues

Investigators probing the June 10 Big Beach blaze are urging beachgoers to fully extinguish fires to prevent further damage.

Image
A shipwreck that has been sitting on Big Beach in Ucluelet for more than a century is a charred skeleton after a fire earlier this month. The shipwreck is shown in a file photo here.
A shipwreck that has been been sitting on Big Beach in Ucluelet for more than a century is a charred skeleton after a fire earlier this month. The shipwreck is shown in a file photo here.

Overview

  • The Ucluelet Fire Department responded to an early-morning fire on June 10 that left the wooden wreckage on Big Beach charred but largely intact.
  • Fire Chief Rick Geddes said crews found no signs of lightning and have not yet determined the blaze’s origin.
  • Authorities warn that unattended beach fires pose risks to nearby homes and fragile historical artifacts.
  • An on-site plaque indicates the vessel was likely built in the late 1800s and swept ashore by storms in 1896 based on its Douglas fir construction and fastenings.
  • The wreck rests in the region dubbed the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” where events like the 1906 SS Valencia disaster spurred creation of the West Coast Trail.