Freighter Lost to Fire at Pasco Dock
The Columbia Pasco, a river freighter, was destroyed by fire during maintenance work, marking a significant loss for the local river transit trade.
The Columbia Pasco, the small river freighter owned by Captain Helpenstell, burned to the water line at the Pasco dock last Friday morning. The boat was being overhauled and recalked and the fire started from burning pitch. The boat had been in commission only a few months and had been built to ply between Pasco and White Bluffs. The captain's loss is estimated at $4,000 with $1,000 insurance.
“The boat was being overhauled and recalked and the fire started from burning pitch.”
The river trade was the lifeblood of the Tri-Cities in 1914 before rail and road dominance. This fire underscores the vulnerability of the wooden-hulled vessels that connected these early settlements before the Columbia was fully tamed by dams.
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