One of Seattle’s landmark waterfront restaurants, Ray’s Boathouse, burned in a spectacular fire on May 26, 1987. A wiring problem beneath Ray’s pier caused plumes of smoke, which spread up into the restaurant through the kitchen floor and prompted the evacuation of customers and staff. Some 50 to 60 fire fighters, plus 20 fire trucks and boats fought the four-alarm blaze for more than four hours. Some of the boats kept at the pier were damaged, and when the fire was finally out, only Ray’s iconic neon sign remained standing. Fortunately, no one was injured and the restaurant reopened on April 9, 1988.

Here, in a Post-Intelligencer photo that went out on the AP wires, smoke billows from underneath the pier at Ray's Boathouse. The fireboat "Chief Seattle" stands by in the lower left foreground.

Caption information source: The Seattle Times, May 27, 1987.