A fire that broke out at the Las Vegas Boat Harbor Marina over the weekend damaged at least 15 boats and injured two people, a boat owner and a firefighter.

The fire began around12:30 a.m. Sunday, and personnel from multiple agencies arrived shortly after to put it out, a process that the National Park Service said took a few hours.

The fire was first reported by a boat owner, marina operator Boating Lake Mead said on Facebook, but it did not say whether the person who reported the fire was the same boat owner hospitalized for a minor burn.

The fire sparked some explosions, according to witnesses.

“You could hear the explosions. There was a lot of smoke and it looked like about 10 boats on fire at one point,” Dave Madden, who saw the fire from about a half-mile away, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Jeff Sammons said he was asleep on his boat inside the marina when he was awakened by a blast.

“It was crazy. A ranger knocked on the door of my boat and said I have to evacuate. There were flames everywhere. Thank goodness there were no fatalities,” Mr. Sammons told Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV-TV.

Before it was put out, the fire damaged at least 15 boats by the NPS count. Boating Lake Mead, the marina operator, told Las Vegas Fox affiliate KVVU-TV that 26 boats were damaged, with 11 destroyed outright.

Two docks at the marina were partially closed as local authorities investigate what might have sparked the blaze.

One boat owner at the marina blames oily bilge water.

Derek Jensen of Henderson, Nevada, told the Review-Journal that he has seen other boaters drain their bilge water, which accumulates at the bottom of boats, into the wider marina. That bilge water can contain oil and create a flammable surface hazard.

“So, you’ve got to be a responsible owner,” Mr. Jensen said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.