Petersburg vessel catches fire near Ketchikan

The Petersburg based commercial gillnet vessel Shelo caught fire on September 3 and was recently salvaged in Ketchikan.

The incident happened in Nakat Inlet. Ryan Erikson, Chief of Incident Management for the U.S. Coast Guard, said the coast guard wasn’t notified until after the fact.

“We know that it did catch fire and caught fire very rapidly,” Erikson said. “It pretty much burned itself out.”

Erikson said a Good Samaritan vessel assisted the Shelo crew. The Coast Guard arrived on the site about a week later to observe the scene.

Erickson said there were about 15 gallons of oily mix in the w...