Brush Fire In Waldport

At 3:05pm on Saturday July 30th Central Coast Fire and Rescue were dispatched to a grass fire in the area of the Port of Alsea. The initial response and first on scene was a Brush Truck. They located the main part of the fire at the corner of Commercial Street and Spencer Street.

Lieutenant Cody Johnson immediately traversed the beach access and began a 360 evaluation of the fire. His initial assessment was that about a half of an acre was burning. Meanwhile, the other two crew members, Engineer Taylor Jernigan and Fire Fighter Connor Mercer, begin deploying hose line and started the initial attack of the perimeter. Lieutenant Johnson requested a water tender from Seal Rock Fire.

The Tidewater Station Water Tender arrived on scene along with the Oregon Department of Forestry. The focus at this point is the surrounding structures. With the help of the great defensive space created by the homeowner, fire crews were able to stop the fire about 20 feet from the deck area of the most effected structure. Upon the arrival of Chief Jamie Mason, the request was made for more resources and a preliminary plan was set in motion in case the need for evacuation of the area was warranted. Additional resources were also requested from many neighboring districts.

When such plans are implemented, it has a ripple affect across the entire county emergency response system. Other districts start moving apparatus and personnel into neighboring districts for coverage. Law enforcement starts to call in additional personnel. Our county, although doesn’t seem like it for the rain totals we got last winter, has started to dry

out very quickly in the summer months. Temperatures are on the rise and staying for longer periods of time causing the enormous amount of underbrush to be very dry. PIO Erich Knudson said "This was a harsh reminder of this fact. It is very important to keep your recreational or cooking fires very small and to have a water source very close to you."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and burned nearly 2 acres. This could have been much worse and grown much quicker had it been later in the fire season. Mop up was completed at 6:00pm. The fire crew response included a Chief Officer, Duty Officer, 2 Lieutenants, 2 Engineers, 2 Firefighters and support volunteers that responded in 1 Incident Command Vehicle, 1 Brush Truck, 2 Engines, 1 Tender and a support vehicle from Central Coast Fire.

Yachats Fire responded with 3 personnel in an Engine and Tender. Seal Rock Fire responded

with 4 personnel in an Engine, Brush Truck and Tender. City of Newport Fire responded with 3 personnel in a Brush Truck and Command Vehicle. Pacific West Ambulance responded with medical stand by. Depoe Bay Fire Responded for Newport coverage. North Lincoln Fire responded for Coverage in Depoe Bay. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene with 4 deputies. Oregon State Police responded to the scene with 2 Troopers. Central Coast fire thanked all of the first response partners for the quick response to help with containing the fire and mop up. It takes a large commitment handle incidents such as this.

Information and Photos provided by Erich Knudson Central Coast Fire PIO