2 piers evacuated as fire breaks out on Seattle waterfront

SEATTLE - Two piers on the Seattle waterfront were evacuated Saturday after a fire broke out beneath Pier 56, sending smoke billowing through crowds of stunned tourists.

Firefighters responded with trucks and fire boats after receiving reports of smoke coming up from between the planks of Pier 56, site of Elliott's Oyster House.

The fire boats pumped foam on the fire as firefighters rushed to the scene and cut holes in the top of the pier to battle the blaze. Pier 56 was evacuated, along with the adjacent pier.

The fire and smoke were brought under control within minutes, according to a Seattle Fire Department spokesperson.

Tourists who were out enjoying the sunshine on the waterfront took it all in stride, and no one was hurt.

"I saw a lot of smoke and a lot of real exciting things," said Joan Tyler, a tourist from California. "The fire boat came in and then there was another fire boat that came."

White sheets of fire-suppressing foam covered the surface of the water in the aftermath of the blaze.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire.