VIDEO: The U.S. Navy said Thursday that charges have been filed against a Navy Sailor who is accused of starting the July 2020 fire that destroyed the warship while it was docked in San Diego.
According to Cmdr. Sean Robertson, U.S. 3rd Fleet spokesperson, the evidence collected during the investigation is sufficient to direct a preliminary hearing for the sailer who was a member of Bonhomme Richard’s crew at the time of the fire. The massive fire erupted late on the morning of July 12 in a storage area aboard the 27,565-ton military sea vessel and soon was sending thick columns of acrid smoke above San Diego Bay and across much of the city.
In August 2020, a senior defense official said that arson was suspected as the cause of the July 12 fire that left extensive damage to the USS Bonhomme Richard.