Coast Guard to conduct live pyrotechnics training near Coos Bay, Feb. 6

Coast Guard Sector North Bend and Coast Guard Station Coos Bay are scheduled to conduct pyrotechnics training Thursday, Feb. 6, between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the vicinity of Bastendorff Beach, just south of the Coos Bay entrance jetties. The Sector North Bend command center will maintain a Safety Marine Information Broadcast throughout the duration of the training, beginning one hour before the first flare launch. The flares will be visible for several miles from shore and at sea. The training will consist of one 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew firing a series of flares. Approximately 20 flares total will be fired from the MLB, showing a variety of characteristics at fixed positions from one to 10 miles offshore. Coast Guard operations specialists and other boat and aviation personnel will observe the flares from two different vantage points on the shoreline. The training provides an opportunity for search and rescue boatcrews to practice firing pyrotechnics. It also gives maritime search planning personnel an opportunity to observe different types of flares. This knowledge allows them to better assist reporting sources in describing characteristics during a flare sighting report and determine reasonable search areas. This training is for Coast Guard personnel and is subject to change without notice due to weather or operations. Spectators are not excluded from Bastendorff Beach during this exercise, but the Coast Guard will not provide public services or special considerations. For more information, please contact Coast Guard Station Coos Bay at 541-888-3267.