Several boats were burned when a fire ripped through a boat house on Salmon Bay, Seattle fire officials said. The fire broke out just before 8 p.m. in the 5100 block of Shilshole Avenue Northwest in Ballard, sending a plume of smoke visible throughout much of the Seattle area. Fire officials said a 70-foot wooden boat inside the boat house was on fire. Video from witnesses on nearby boats showed flames shooting through the boat house amid small explosions. Fire officials said other smaller boats were burned. People who were in the boat house escaped and no one was injured.