Local vigils planned to honor 'Conception' boat fire victims
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Vigils were scheduled to be held in Santa Monica and Long Beach on Thursday to honor the 34 victims killed in the 'Conception,' boat fire off the coast of Santa Barbara.
RELATED: 33 bodies recovered in 'Conception' boat fire off Santa Cruz Island
The environmental group Heal the Bay will host a remembrance event beginning at 6 p.m. at its aquarium under the Santa Monica Pier. The event that's scheduled to last for four hours will be highlighted by a vigil at 8 p.m. Attendees were asked to bring dive lights and "open hearts," the organization said.
The Deep Blue Scuba Center in Long Beach will host a candlelight vigil ``to honor the lives of the divers of the Conception dive boat.'' The gathering will begin at the center, 11 39th Place, and end at the Belmont Pier at 7 p.m.
Two Santa Monica residents were identified as some of the victims in the tragedy. Marybeth Guiney and Charles McIlvain were identified by friends and family as victims of the Monday morning fire. Guiney and McIlvain were friends who lived in the same condominium complex.
Guiney, a sales director and ocean enthusiast who was dedicated to the protection of sharks and other sea life, was hailed by friends as an outgoing figure who always had a smile.
"She was such an inspiration, a voice to help understand and protect sharks, and shared her pictures and stories as she traveled the world,'' one friend wrote on Facebook. "She was endlessly energetic, optimistic and always had a smile to share. Just can't believe it. What a tragedy for so many."
McIlvain, according to his Facebook page, worked as a visual effects designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. His wife, filmmaker Jasmine Lord, was not with him on the Conception dive boat. Her online posts indicated she was working over the weekend in Miami -- in the path of Hurricane Dorian.
Only five people, all crew members, escaped the burning ship. An investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board is continuing into the cause of the blaze, but the answer may not be known for months.