Mourners Name Boat Fire Victims, Including Some In Santa Cruz

CALIFORNIA — Family members, school and company officials, along with organizers of GoFundMe accounts have identified other victims of the early Monday morning deadly dive boat fire in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Santa Barbara County.

The Conception, a 75-foot vessel with 39 people on board, caught fire and sank by about 7:20 a.m. Five crew members survived.

Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation into the fire. The 34 people still missing are presumed dead.

"It is with heavy heart that I share a tremendous loss in my life," Rob Kurtz wrote in letter on a GoFundMe page about the loss of his oldest daughter Allie Kurtz. She was the only Conception crew member to perish in the fire, according to her dad.

"Allie had a heart of gold and lived her life on her terms," Rob's letter said. "She left the movie industry to follow her love of boating and scuba diving."

The Santa Barbara County coroner's bureau has not officially released the names of the victims.

Nicole Quitasol and four others in her family died in the fire, according to a separate GoFundMe account. Quitasol worked at Nicky Rottens Bar and Burger Joint in Coronado.

"It's with great sorrow that I share the news of one of our dearly loved employees," Bryn Butolph wrote in a post on the restaurant's Facebook page.

Butolph said, "Nicole was such a smart, loving, energetic and adventurous soul. She will be greatly missed."

Restaurant management has set up a fundraiser to help pay for the funerals of Quitasol and her family members. A celebration of the lives of Nicole and her family will be held at Nicky Rottens in Coronado at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Officials with Santa Cruz's Pacific Collegiate School said on Tuesday that the school "is saddened by the tragic sinking of the diving vessel Conception over the weekend. While this was not a school sponsored trip, our hearts and thoughts are with the families of the victims and those yet missing, particularly those of our students and parents on board."

School officials did not name any of the students or parents who may have lost their lives.

Charles McIlvain and Marybeth Guiney were identified as victims by Malibu Divers in a post on the dive shop's Facebook page.

"All of us are devastated by the Conception dive boat tragedy," the post said. "We'd like to honor Charles McIlvain and Marybeth Guiney" by asking people who knew them to tell an anecdote about them or a story about an adventure they had with them.

Among the dead identified on Tuesday was Raymond (Scott) Chan, who was a physics teacher at American High School in Fremont, and his daughter.

Fremont Unified School District officials said in a tweet, "We send our condolences to Mr. Chan's family and the American High School community."

The city of Santa Cruz identified Kristina Finstad, a former city employee, as another victim with ties to the Bay Area.

"The horrific incident is being felt deeply by our community," Santa Cruz Mayor Martine Watkins said in a statement. "We are in disbelief at what has happened and our hearts go out to the families of all of those who are waiting for news on their loved ones."

Finstad worked in the city's Water Department from 2005 to 2015.

—Bay City News