Fireworks Causes Brush Fire In Lincoln City 8 Arrested

Eight people all 21-year olds from the Portland, Bend and Washington areas, have been charged with starting a beach fire on SW Coast Avenue in Lincoln City on Saturday July 4th. Reports indicate the residence where they were staying is a private home and not a VRD. The suspects reportedly tossed fireworks off a balcony of the house into the grassy hillside below. North Lincoln Fire and Rescue Crews received the call close to 9:30pm.

The blaze triggered evacuation level 2, which is get set for 10 homes in the area for about 3-hours. Officers made notifications of the possible need to evacuate door to door at surrounding homes and closed the roadway. The blaze which reached approximately 45,000 square feet and came within approximately 30 feet of three residences. Incident Commander NLFR Deputy Chief Cody Heidt directed the firefighting efforts.North Lincoln Fire crews, along with Depoe Bay and Newport Fire Departments responded to help along with the Oregon Department of Forestry West Oregon District. Fire crews declared the fire contained around 1:30am July 5th and stayed on scene until around 3am to continue monitoring for hot spots.

According to Cody Heidt, Public Information Officer with North Lincoln Fire and Rescue, the terrain where the fire broke out was on a steep cliff and made it very difficult to put out. Crews had to use a ladder to get access to the fire because the terrain was very steep, and the deep sand made it a challenge to maneuver in. Height said, "All that vegetation and beach grass is very dry right now, and that combined with the winds creates even more difficulty to contain a fire." He said strong winds from the north were blowing the embers, fanning the fire and pushing it south.

There were no injuries reported. Using thermal imaging, the LCPD Unmanned Aircraft System Team assisted by identifying hot spots and fire movement to coordinate the efforts of fire crews to better protect houses and structures in the area. The Department’s UAS program has become an important public safety asset for the community from search and rescue, to locating missing children, and now coordinating with fire-fighting efforts.

The following people have been arrested and charged with starting the fire.

Alexander Chen, 21, of Portland

Arvin Kharrazu, 21, of Portland

Braeden Carter, 21, of Bend

Ethan Thanh-Tai Tieu, 21, of Battleground Washington

Jeremy Hannah, 21, of Portland

Jesse Lindholm, 21, of Portland

Logan Carter, 21, of Bend

Olin Gilster, 21, of Portland Oregon

All eight suspects were arrested for Reckless Burning, and were cited to appear on July 20 at Lincoln County Circuit Court.