Houseboat Explosion in Crystal Springs Canyon

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BartsPlace

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Do we have anyone here who knows the name of the boat?? We have an owner down now who normally responds to texts at least once per day and no one heard from them yet today....
 
So sad.
http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/ar...-powell-in-house-boat-explosion/#.WWff_OmQyUk

LAKE POWELL, Utah – A 52-year-old Colorado woman is dead and four others seriously injured when the house boat they were on exploded Wednesday night, according to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.

Around 10 p.m., a privately-owned house boat anchored on the shore in Crystal Springs Canyon area of Lake Powell exploded, killing Kirsten Meyer, of Castle Rock, Colorado, and critically injuring four others.

A juvenile male sustained minor injuries and was treated at the Bullfrog Clinic in Bullfrog, Utah, and subsequently released.

The four others were flown by medical aircraft to hospitals in Salt Lake City and Grand Junction, Colorado. Critical injuries included burns, broken bones and facial injuries.

Twenty other people who were on the house boat when the explosion occurred were not harmed.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, though has been reported that the house boat generator exploded while attempts were made to start it.

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and National Park Service are investigation the incident.

Assisting at the scene of the accident were NPS personnel from Bullfrog and Halls Crossing, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office Medical Examiner.

The San Juan County Medical Examiner is conducting the investigation of the fatality and the body was taken to the Salt Lake City, Utah Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
 
http://kutv.com/news/local/police-identify-victim-of-fatal-house-boat-explosion-at-lake-powell

Summer Paradise...there's a picture of it in this article:
"
The boat is part of a group ownership and is shared by approximately 16 owners. One of the owners told 2News they learned of the explosion Thursday morning in an e-mail from the boat’s management company. According to the owner, the explosion blew up the back part of the boat and sent people flying through the glass doors of the boat.

The owner said the boat did not sink."
 
Joy said:
http://kutv.com/news/local/police-identify-victim-of-fatal-house-boat-explosion-at-lake-powell

Summer Paradise...there's a picture of it in this article:
"
The boat is part of a group ownership and is shared by approximately 16 owners. One of the owners told 2News they learned of the explosion Thursday morning in an e-mail from the boat’s management company. According to the owner, the explosion blew up the back part of the boat and sent people flying through the glass doors of the boat.

The owner said the boat did not sink."
Click to expand...


OMG - can you imagine how massive the blast must have been? This is terrible, prayers for the family of the woman and those injured!
 
Second hand info....
Family's were from Colorado. One of the adult women has 2 broken legs, a broken arm, concussion. She is in hospital in SLC. Her husband was flown to GJ with 2nd and 3rd degree burns on 30 % of his body. He has now been transported to SLC to be with his wife. One of the other victims has 2 broken arms and a broken leg. Not sure of other victim.
No kids hurt as they were on beach.
Details aren't clear on generator issue other than it wouldn't start and either fumes or fuel ignited.
Prayers for all the families involved!
 
Bruce in Denver said:
Second hand info....
Family's were from Colorado. One of the adult women has 2 broken legs, a broken arm, concussion. She is in hospital in SLC. Her husband was flown to GJ with 2nd and 3rd degree burns on 30 % of his body. He has now been transported to SLC to be with his wife. One of the other victims has 2 broken arms and a broken leg. Not sure of other victim.
No kids hurt as they were on beach.
Details aren't clear on generator issue other than it wouldn't start and either fumes or fuel ignited.
Prayers for all the families involved!
Click to expand...


Thank goodness the children were all on the beach, but I can't even imagine the terror they must have been going through with so many horrid injuries on the adults in the party.
 
Several years ago there was a skipperliner that had a generator sourced explosion and burned the entire boat that left only the hull and BBQ to claim. It was later reported that a fuel transfer was in progress on the back deck when fuel spilled near the closed engine hatch and exploded from the operational generator. This recent story states the explosion resulted from starting the generator, which was most likely a remote start switch. It appears the engine room had gas vapor that was not evacuated prior to starting engine and a spark from the starter on the generator started the reaction. There are so many advantages of diesel fuel on a boat, virtually no carbon monoxide and explosive vapors are just 2. A very sad event for sure.
 
One of the biggest dangers on any boat using gas. Doesn't happen often but when it does it's bad. Can't even imagine the scene. It's so unfortunate that these accidents reinforce our own safety standards. My prayers to all involved. Puts the danger of a wake in perspective.
 
Incredibly sad for all involved. Best wishes for a speedy recovery for those injured.

Houseboats like this one are complicated pieces of engineering. Lots of sophisticated systems and potential hazards that the average person who spends one week a year on a timeshare cannot master. Not sure if that was the case here, but I know it's the case on a lot of timeshare boats at the lake. I can't help but think that the difficulty, especially up-lake, in finding available and qualified people to work on these boats when they break down contributes to some of the disasters you read about.
 
I'm sad to hear about this accident and always try to apply the findings to my boating habits hoping I can learn something to keep my family safe. I worked for a boat dealership when I was younger and over the years I have seen several boats explode. I'm compulsive about boat maintenance and even with that I recognize that problems still occur. I have a gas monitor installed in my runabout as a precaution and run the blower before starting. Nothing takes the place of opening the cover and using your nose and eyes for leaks. Also a clean bilge is an indicator of someone taking the time to get in the bilge. Take the time when you do your maintenance to make sure all the clamps are tight and everything is double clamped.
 
Kevin G said:
Incredibly sad for all involved. Best wishes for a speedy recovery for those injured.

I can't help but think that the difficulty, especially up-lake, in finding available and qualified people to work on these boats when they break down contributes to some of the disasters you read about.
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I definitely agree on the above, at least with our management company. We had a new generator installed for us, the generator fuel re circulation line install was incorrect and dangerous. Fortunately it was identified and corrected (not until after 3 weeks of use and the 3rd owner identified and corrected the issue.)
 
How is it possible for something so fun to be so dangerous but it is. Situational awareness and competence is the key but even then hit shappens. Be careful out there!
 
Very sad , it seems that the one thing you read about the most on this forum are people having problems with there generators. my heart goes out to all involved.
 
http://fox13now.com/2017/07/13/part-owners-of-houseboat-speak-after-deadly-explosion-on-lake-powell/

Part-owners of houseboat speak after deadly explosion on Lake Powell
Posted 9:59 pm, July 13, 2017, by Kiersten Nuñez


LAKE POWELL, Utah -- For 18 years, Summer Paradise has been a getaway for the Mills family, but their annual trip to Lake Powell took an unexpected turn when Wendy Mills got an update on her phone about an explosion on a houseboat.

The blast aboard "Summer Paradise" killed 52-year-old Kirsten Meyer of Castle Rock, Colorado and critically injured four others.

“We were planning on going this Sunday," Mills said. "We had it all planned out. We had all the food, and everything is packed already."

Mills didn't know it was their boat until she talked to her husband.

“He said that houseboat that blew up was ours, and I said 'You're kidding, right?' and he said, 'No, it was our houseboat, the president of the boat just called,'” Mills recalled.

The boat was anchored in Crystal Springs Canyon near the Bull Frog Marina. The San Juan County Sheriff's Office says about two dozen people were on the boat at the time.

“I’ve been sick to my stomach all day," Mills said. "First of all to the family it happened to, and second of all, it could have been us; we were supposed to be down there Sunday all week, and what would have happened if we were on the boat?"

The Mills, along with eight other families, share ownership of the houseboat. Throughout the day, they received updates on the tragedy and learned the generator blew up.

“The generator is below the bottom or the back deck, it's underneath, and you have to open it up to get to it and they were trying to start it,” Mills said.

The president of the boat owners' association told the Mills when the explosion happened it sent people flying through the sliding glass doors. Wendy said the generator is only a couple of years old, and the boat had undergone maintenance last week.

“I just think it's a freak accident; that's just what happened," she said. "Sometimes the generators just quit. My husband has had to go down there multiple times."

Mills says the woman who died was a family friend of the owner who was using the boat at the time. The four others who were critically injured suffered burns, broken bones and facial injuries.

The San Juan County Sheriff's Office along with the National Park Service are investigating.
 
This is the part that stands out to me.......

The president of the boat owners' association told the Mills when the explosion happened it sent people flying through the sliding glass doors. Wendy said the generator is only a couple of years old, and the boat had undergone maintenance last week.

“I just think it's a freak accident; that's just what happened," she said. "Sometimes the generators just quit. My husband has had to go down there multiple times."
 
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