At around 4:15pm on Monday August 26, 2019 the Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District was dispatched for a report of a possible illegal burn and smoke in the area coming from off of SW Norwood Drive in Waldport. A Central Oregon Coast Fire unit responded and arrived on scene within a minute. The first arriving unit reported smoke coming from the wooded area to the North and down the hill. Upon further investigation it was discovered that it was a house fire and would not be accessible from Norwood Dr.
The first arriving unit then headed down and across from Highway 101 at the sea wall to access the abandoned structure that was located at 955 SW Pacific Coast Hwy. Yachats Fire and Seal Real Fire were dispatched along with additional request for Central Coast Fire personnel and Pacific West Ambulance. At 4:27pm The Central Coast Fire Chief established Command near the structure up on the hill and several hundred feet of hose line was taken up the hill to the structure from the engine as apparatus access was not an option. The home was unoccupied at the time.
Units from Seal Rock Fire arrived and setup to supply water to Central Coast Fire main engine.
At 4:30pm Central Lincoln PUD arrived on scene and disconnected power from the overhead lines that crossed the structure. At 4:33pm The Seal Rock Fire Chief assumed the Operations role at the highway level to assist with water supply and traffic control. Operations in conjunction with the Lincoln County Sheriff shut down the Northbound Lane of Highway 101 so that approximately 1000 feet of hose line could be run from the hydrant near Grand Central Pizza to the main Central Coast Engine.
This closed access to Norwood Heights area via Highway 101. At 4:39pm Yachats Fire arrived on scene to assist with fire control. Newport Fire was dispatched at 5:09pm to assist with coverage for the South County area. The fire was under Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue emergency alerts control and hot spot watch was put into place at 7:17pm. A plan was put into place to watch the structure overnight and the hose lines were left in place in case of a flare up. A backup engine was put into place at the location over night along with a 2 person crew for overnight fire watch.
The following morning of August 27, 2019 at approximately 11:30 am, the engine and hose lines were removed. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Central Coast Fire and the Oregon State Fire Marshals office and the Lincoln County Fire Investigation Team. Central Coast Fire was assisted on scene by Seal Rock Fire District, Yachats Fire District, Newport Fire Department, Pacific West Ambulance, Oregon Department of Forestry, U.S Forest Service and the Lincoln County Sheriff.
Information and photos provided by Central Coast Fire And Rescue