Tag Archives: Crabber Zeke Estrella
Ilwaco community rallies to salvage crabbing season after fire
Deckhand Curtis McKenzie and his captain, Zeke Estrella, of the Sunset Charge pulled up to Ilwaco Landing last Monday to drop off crab pots. The landing, which serves as a hub for Dungeness crab harvests, was oddly quiet, and workers didn’t meet them as they pulled in. So they went down to see what was going on. They smelled smoke, then saw an inferno. Estrella pushed into the growing blaze with a fire extinguisher, but the flames were too intense. They would later overwhelm firefighters and level the wooden dock and fish-receiving facility owned by Bornstein Seafoods. Thousands of stacked crab pots, carefully prepared and waiting for the season beginning Thursday, were destroyed. For some, it was unclear whether fishers could recover in time. But just hours after the fire, as smoke rose from the remnants, the port was buzzing as the community pulled together to restore what was lost. lots of photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:25
Crabber who lost pots in Ilwaco fire thankful for donations, volunteers
Zeke Estrella survived a boat sinking in the Pacific Ocean. Estrella said Monday’s fire at Ilwaco Landing was worse. “We lost 570 crab pots,” said Estrella, captain of the F/V Sunset Charge. The fire destroyed thousands of crab pots stored on the landing ahead of the start of commercial Dungeness crab season next week. About 8,500 crab pots on the deck were surrounding the building at the time of the fire. Estrella said despite the losses, he expects to replace all of his lost pots by Monday thanks to donations and volunteer work from crabbers up and down the West Coast. Twenty volunteers showed up Thursday to his Ilwaco property bringing pots, buoys, and ropes. Video, more, >>click to read<< 21:55
