There were 160 people on board the USS Bonhomme Richard docked at the San Diego Naval Base in California when a fire started and there was an internal explosion around 8:30 a.m.., Commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Three, Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck said in a press conference on Sunday night.
Everyone on board was accounted for, but 17 sailors and four civilians suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to Sobeck.
He told reporters that the sailors were in stable condition at local hospitals Sunday night. The ship, which has a crew of 1,000, was undergoing maintenance.
San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell told CNN's Erica Hill that the USS Bonhomme Richard could burn for days "down to the water line" after an explosion on Sunday.
Stowell said "as soon as the personnel started getting off the ship, there was an explosion."
"The Navy is the only one that will work from the pier side as well as the harbor PD on the fire boats, working from the water side to contain the heat of it," according to Stowell.
As of 11:30 p.m. Sunday, defensive operations continued on the ship with two helicopters from the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Three providing water buckets to aid in the fight, according to a Naval Surfaces Forces tweet.
Flames are being fueled by office supplies and other items from the lower vehicle storage area where the fire started, Sobek said.
While investigators know where the fire started, they have not yet determined the cause of the fire. There was a report of an internal explosion caused by over-pressurization, Sobeck said.
A shelter in place was ordered Sunday evening for all non-responding personnel at the base to maintain an 1,800-yard safety perimeter as the firefight continues, Sobeck said.
Two other naval ships, the USS Fitzgerald and the USS Russell, had to move farther away because they were threatened by the burning Bonhomme Richard, a media update from the navy said Sunday afternoon. One moved around 1 p.m. and the second moved 30 minutes later.
Despite the damage, the ship has endured in the fire.
"We're absolutely going to make sure it sails again," Sobeck said, "Right now we're going to fight the fire and then we'll work on understanding what exactly happened to make sure she sails as best as possible in a very near time."
CNN's Paul Vercammen, Artemis Moshtaghian, Mitchell McCluskey and Mary Kay Mallonee contributed to this report.
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