Last Sunday, at about ten o’clock, with a high wind blowing from the westward, afterwards more southerly, a fire started in Quampacha Bottom, on Dr.
The view over Menemsha harbor may be forever changed after last year’s fire destroyed the historic Coast Guard boathouse and town pier, but one thing remains unchanged: the heart and soul of the picturesque fishing village that is Chilmark’s downtown.
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the July 12 fire, a fitting day for the dedication of the rebuilt drive-on dock. A large group of Chilmark elected leaders, emergency service chiefs and residents gathered in Menemsha to mark the occasion.
As discussion continues about cleanup and a still-incomplete investigation into the July 12 Menemsha fire, the Chilmark selectmen are set to meet with spokesmen for the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday evening.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.
A huge fire erupted in the U.S. Coast Guard boathouse in Menemsha yesterday afternoon, completely destroying the 68-year-old building along with an extended wooden pier that leads to the west dock on the Menemsha harbor. Also destroyed in the blaze were at least one truck and an unknown number of small boats nearby. Miraculously there were no injuries save one minor injury to a volunteer fireman, a Coast Guard public affairs spokesman confirmed last night.
Tisbury firefighters quickly extinguished a fire outside 54 Main street on Sunday evening that started in a trash can behind the building. Owned by Larry Levine, the building houses the Peter Simon and Louisa Gould galleries.
The fire was first reported by Ms. Gould, who was in her gallery and smelled smoke just after 8 p.m. and called 911.
Island writers are expressing sympathy and sadness for the loss, they hope only temporarily, of the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven that was devastated by fire on July 4.
A disastrous Independence Day fire completely destroyed the Café Moxie restaurant and left the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore badly damaged, shutting down Main street Vineyard Haven for the entire day and leaving the town, its business community and much of the Island in a state of shock at the outset of peak summer season.
But the owner of the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore promised yesterday that it would reopen.
