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ATF Asked To Investigate Suspicious Fire At Old Coast Guard Dock At Cape Lookout

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Published Date

July 2, 2020
Federal investigators were being called in to determine how a fire started at an old Coast Guard dock at Cape Lookout National Seashore/NPS

Federal investigators were being called in to determine how a fire started at an old Coast Guard dock at Cape Lookout National Seashore. About 30 feet of the dock was damaged/NPS

Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents were requested Thursday to investigate a fire that burned a section of the old U.S. Coast Guard dock at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The fire was reported a little after 1 a.m. Thursday by a sailboat captain who was anchored in Cape Lookout Bight. The first 350 feet or so of the dock is made of heavy wooden timbers and planking. The dock is valued at well over $1 million, a park release said.

Initial reports indicate at least 30 feet of the dock was damaged, it added.  The Harkers Island and Beaufort, N.C., fire departments had extinguished the blaze by 3:30 a.m., likely saving the majority of the structure.   

The cause of the fire was pending. Anyone who might have information related to the fire was asked to contact Cape Lookout Chief Ranger Jill Jaworski at (252) 838-8900.    

Comments

Submitted by Rangerskip on July 4, 2020 - 2:37pm.

When I saw this article about the fire on  the former USCG dock, I immediately thought of the NPS Ranger Station at Harkers Island that was burned down by an arsonist in 1986. The ATF was assigned to the initial investigation but was replaced by the FBI. We had a number of suspects but no evidence for prosecution. Arson was relatively common those days in Eastern NC. The crime was never solved to my knowledge. 


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