A salvage company will decide this morning whether it can attempt to tow a grounded fishing vessel from the reef near Waikiki after a fire on the boat delayed a second removal attempt Saturday.

With severe weather approaching, Cates Marine Service is working to remove the 79-foot longline fishing vessel, Pacific Paradise, which is stuck on the reef about 330 yards from Kaimana Beach.

The U.S.-flagged vessel ran aground late Tuesday night with 20 people on board.

On Saturday the salvage company was preparing for a second attempt to tow the vessel at high tide, but a fire broke out aboard about 10 a.m.

Punchbowl resident Aaron Friedman was at the beach for a barbecue and said the boat appeared quiet and dark Saturday morning when “all of a sudden there was smoke.” When flames appeared in about 10 minutes, salvage workers began jumping off the vessel, he said.

The Coast Guard said seven people from the salvage company were on board at the time, and all escaped without injury. City lifeguards plucked them out of the water and took them ashore.

Firefighters dumped water on the vessel using a helicopter, but the fire continued smoldering for hours afterward, apparently burning combustible items below deck.

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir said no one was allowed on the boat for safety reasons because the integrity of the deck was unknown. The cause of the fire also remained unknown Saturday.

According to initial estimates, about 200 gallons of diesel fuel leaked into the ocean after the fire, Muir said. The boat has two fuel tanks attached to opposite sides of the hull, and the salvage company was able to remove about 3,000 gallons of fuel from the tanks by Thursday.

About 1,500 gallons remained on board before the fire.

The red-dyed fuel could be seen on the ocean surface as waves crashed against the hull.

Muir said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is checking for environmental damage from the spill, but diesel fuel breaks up easily and can evaporate quickly.

NOAA was also monitoring for marine mammals in the area, including an endangered monk seal that was seen near the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki earlier in the week. The seal was not seen anywhere near Kaimana Beach on Saturday.

The window for removing the boat was expected to be fleeting today as severe wind, surf and swells are expected in the area. Easterly winds were predicted to be about 28 mph today, but Diamond Head could provide some shelter, Muir said.

The National Weather Service issued a small-craft advisory for all islands until Thursday, and surf along south-facing shores was predicted to be 5 to 8 feet today.

Muir said the severe weather is expected to stick around until the middle of the week, which could delay the boat’s removal for days if it is not removed today.

If the weather permits, the salvage company will try to tow the boat during high tide about 1:20 p.m. today.

On Friday, the salvage company attempted to tow the boat during high tide, but the tow line snapped. The company reattached the line and was able to tow the vessel about 50 yards before the tide went out.

The Pacific Paradise ran aground while transporting a crew from American Samoa to its home port in Honolulu. The boat is owned by TWOL LLC, according to Coast Guard records. A company representative could not be reached Saturday.

The boat did not have any fish aboard, which was one less concern for responders because rotting fish can create toxic substances for humans.

Kaimana Beach remained largely empty Saturday morning, with the Coast Guard enforcing a 500-yard safety zone extending out from the vessel.

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the grounding.