An update on the 2500 Road Fire on the Central Oregon Coast east of Depoe Bay. Crews continued to make good progress Tuesday, and through the night. Clearing conditions allowed aircraft to work the fire into the evening. Wednesday, crews will work to establish containment lines around the perimeter of the fire. They will focus on mop up efforts for areas of the fireline that have been constructed either by hand or dozer. Crews continue to patrol for spot fires throughout the fire area. The weather today will be different compared to yesterday. The fog is expected to lift earlier, and temperatures will be higher. The wind is expected to shift to the NW by this afternoon, with gusts up to 10 mph. When the fog lifts there will be a good opportunity to use aircraft on the fire. The fire could also become more active as temperatures rise. Smoke may become more visible to the public. Over the next 24 hours the objective will be to establish containment lines around the fire while continuing to mop up inside the fire perimeter. “Mop up” -Extinguishing or removing burning material near control lines, felling snags, and trenching logs to prevent rolling after an area has burned, to make a fire safe, or to reduce residual smoke. This will prepare the fire to be tested by higher temperatures and east winds that are predicted to be here Thursday. During the morning briefing for the firefighters the agency administrator Mike Totey said “It’s different at the coast” several times while he was explaining to them that the vegetation is different than what they are used to when fighting fires. The mop up efforts will be different, and fighting fire is different than what fire crews are used to. Citizens are encouraged to be mindful of the heavy traffic in and around Depoe Bay. Fogarty Creek State Park will temporarily remain closed to the public while fire crews are utilizing it for fire camp. The incident command post is located at the Depoe Bay Fire & Rescue station. There are no evacuations currently in effect. INCIDENT AT A GLANCE: Cause: Under investigation; Total personnel: 276; Hand crews: 16; Helicopters: 2; Fire engines: 16; Bulldozers: 2; Water Tenders: 6; Total acres: 222; Containment: 0%; Estimated suppression cost: $175,000.
