Six fire departments in Lincoln County have been called upon by the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office to deploy firefighters, equipment and task force leaders to help battle blazes burning in central and southeast Oregon.
On Saturday, the Depoe Bay, North Lincoln, Central Oregon Coast and Siletz Valley fire districts sent 12 firefighters, four engines and a water tender to the Brewer Fire east of Madras that has burned more than 350,000 acres and threatened or destroyed structures. That task force also included personnel and equipment from Netarts-Oceanside and the Dayton fire districts and is led by Cody Heidt of North Lincoln Fire & Rescue.
It is the sixth deployment of firefighters and equipment from Lincoln Conty departments this summer as Oregon experiences a record amount of acreage burned in central, eastern, and southern Oregon.
On Thursday, four departments – North Lincoln, Central Coast, Newport and Seal Rock – sent firefighters, equipment and task force leader Ron Dahlman of North Lincoln to Sutherlin to bolster crews there in anticipation of high winds over the weekend. But on Friday, the task force was deployed to the 9,000-acre Wright Springs fire in Klamath County.
An employee of a contract firefighting company died Thursday when his bulldozer was overcome in the blaze.
