A fire on 2 June destroyed several houseboats at Wahweap Marina. After the smoke cleared, the Chronicle interviewed Mr. Wilkes. When Mr. Wilkes is busy fighting fires, he runs Skylight Houseboat Management. Following in his father’s footsteps, he founded the company in his 2022. Wilkes is a family business and he, his wife, and his two young children live in Big His Water, Utah.

And what about skills? Mr. Wilkes has served in the United States Marine Corps for four years and is now a volunteer firefighter for the Water Fire Department with many years of experience in houseboat maintenance. He’s the perfect counter to what could be a perfect storm.

Wilkes’ Marine Corps job is a combat engineer, which covers a wide area and requires a wide range of skills. He used that skill to fight terrorism abroad.

“I’ve done a lot with explosives,” Wilkes said. “I was a guy with a mine detector looking for IEDs[improvised explosive devices]. When I do, I’m usually pretty alert.I don’t panic or get shocked.I’m just kind of reacting.”

Everyone loves heroes. The media loves heroes. This time I chose Wilkes.

Wilkes’ actions were certainly heroic, but he didn’t act alone.

“I think we need to give a big shoutout to many CUA holders,” Wilkes said. “I was the first person there to start moving the boats, but I think my name got really big, and I wasn’t the only one there. There were also other CUAs who put a lot of effort into it.”

A CUA is a commercial use permit issued to a company that provides goods, activities, services, agreements, or other functions on land managed by the National Park Service (NPS).

Jesse Moore and Nate Tate took risks and were reluctant heroes. Wilkes said he didn’t want to go at first but followed her into action and saved her boat. Moore used another boat to hoist the houseboat. Tate, a tough-looking man, also helped hoist the boat. He hurt his back in the process, but didn’t need immediate medical attention. Wilkes said Tate was “still at work and roaming around the marina.”

Wilkes recounted the events leading up to the fire.

“I piloted the first three boats before the houseboat caught fire. [the one] That’s where it all started, and there was a boat right next to it. I actually spoke to people who were on the boat that started the fire,” he said. “Their surf boat was in the way for me to get out and turn around, so I asked them if they could move the boat. And I took the boat to the cleanup dock and pumped it out and then the starboard engine started having engine problems. We had a mechanic come in and have the engine evaluated, luckily they had a problem with the engine otherwise the boat would have burned down.”

Mr Wilkes continued: “I was there with a mechanic when a customer called and said, ‘Hey, this boat right next to our dock is smoking badly.’ put me on a pursuit boat and made a fairly quick run between F and G docks and arrived at the main dock, when I got there the flames were just starting to burn. There seemed to be a noise coming from the kitchen area, like it was on fire.It sounded like a jet engine exploding.It was propane gas burning.It was like a flamethrower. It heated up the boat very quickly, which meant it went fast, and was completely engulfed in flames in about 15-30 seconds.

“It was very fast. This is why I suspect there is something wrong with the stove, because a normal fire doesn’t build up heat that quickly. Once installed, it will heat up quickly.”

As Aramark was evacuating people from the area, Mr. Wilkes received an alert from the Big Water Fire Department.

“I had a bit of an argument with Aramark about standing on the docks as we were trying to evacuate everyone, but there is a boat I manage on the docks and I’m also a volunteer firefighter for Big Water,” Wilkes said. Told. “Thinking about that fire made us feel better, but we’re not going to drive to Big Water. Let’s go vote. I was already there, trying to put out the fire.” And we already know houseboats burn hot, fiberglass is so hot, we have 500-600 gallons of fuel in the back, and the entire dock is completely burned out within 15 minutes. Well, and knowing that, in a way, I acted, I went to get the boat that was in front of the fire, got it out, and then went to get out of Eagle’s Landing. Their boat was trapped, they couldn’t get in. So they took off the ropes, unplugged the power cable and I started pushing them out.

“At Eagle’s Landing there was a boat between fires and I tried to get it out. I tried to get it out and pushed it back but I let it out in the middle and it caught fire. So I grabbed one of the anchors and hooked it to the cleat to try and keep the fire out, but there was no way, it was too hot and I had to let go.”

One of the 38 boats Wilkes managed was next to the burning boat. It didn’t work.

“I tried to get it out, but it just created a wall of smoke,” Wilkes said.

“I couldn’t get back to the starboard aft cleat. So I went to the boat right next door, unloaded that boat, then came back and tried to unload all the boats I could.

“We ended up unloading all the boats from the B dock, which was a huge help among just about every CUA here at the marina. I don’t remember the gentleman’s name but he is the owner of Crystal Angel He came in and let the boat down and after we had taken a good distance Aramark followed the boat They started pulling the boats out and tying them to them.The boats we couldn’t get on started to be pulled up, but the fire had already been extinguished and we were pretty much safe.”

Everything happened quickly. Those on the boat had most of the situation under control by the time the local fire department arrived.

“We believe the fire was extinguished and two-thirds of the pier closest to the fire was removed before the Glen Canyon Fire Department arrived,” Wilkes said. “The park service was the first to show up. The ranger was very helpful. He helped hoist some boats and then the fire department. Five minutes later he was already on two boats.”

Wilkes didn’t catch the Ranger’s name. We were both too busy to care about formalities. The Chronicle reached out to Glen Canyon National Recreation Areas for the ranger’s name, but has yet to receive a response.

The NPS news release read: “National Park Service, Big Water Fire Department, Page Fire Department, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Kane County Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Arizona Game and Fish Service, and Arizona Department of Public Safety.”

No one was killed or seriously injured in the fire, according to NPS. NPS said he completed the survey in seven days. They used photographs, videos, and eyewitness reports, including Wilkes’ testimony. Friday afternoon, June 2nd, was a busy time at Wah Weep His Marina. There was no shortage of witnesses. Upon investigation, NPS concluded that the cause of the fire had not been determined and was accidental in nature.