N. Oregon Coast Emergencies: Cannon Beach FD Deals with Injured Hiker, Missing Child, Wrecks in One Day

Published 07/07/26 at 7:25 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – An incredibly busy day for rescuers Monday on the north Oregon coast: a lot of the action was centered around Cannon Beach but ended up involving multiple agencies with a rapid succession of emergencies.

Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District (CBRFPD) said it dealt with an injured hiker in Ecola State Park and continuing through a motor-vehicle crash, a missing child report, and an evening traffic hazard on U.S. Highway 101.

Shortly after 2 p.m., crews were dispatched to Ecola Park for a hiker injured on a trail. Responding units included the fire chief, various firefighters and firefighting students or volunteers, as well as the deputy chief. An engine company remained staffed at the station with three personnel. With MEDIX Ambulance tied up on multiple calls in northern Clatsop county, Seaside Fire & Rescue sent an ambulance for transport.

As Cannon Beach crews treated the hiker and prepared for a carry-out to the parking area, dispatch reported a motor-vehicle crash on Highway 101 near Shannon Lane. Because this was a second simultaneous call and initial reports sounded serious, dispatch activated some off-duty personnel. One off-duty firefighter living near the station arrived quickly, allowing the engine crew to respond with four personnel.

The fire chief transferred command of the Ecola Park incident to the deputy chief and headed to the crash.

“Hearing the nature of the call and knowing that there were still personnel committed to the Ecola Park call, Seaside Fire asked if we would like and engine from Seaside,” the agency said. “Seaside Engine 3123 responded to assist with 3 personnel. Another off duty shift firefighter came in as well as 2 more volunteers and 1 off-duty student. “

The deputy chief later cleared out from the Ecola Park incident and moved to Silver Point to assist with landing a Life Flight helicopter.

Cannon Beach FD file photo

Then, just as crews were still working the crash and others were heading out from Ecola Park, lifeguards reported a missing 8-year-old child. Personnel from the hiker rescue responded to assist. Luckily, lifeguards located the child shortly afterward.

At approximately 6:30 p.m., Cannon Beach Fire was dispatched again - this time for a trailer that had lost a wheel and was blocking the southbound lane near milepost 33, just south of Arcadia Beach.

An engine company and a rescue crew conducted traffic control on the busy north Oregon coast road, while the duty officer and fire chief set up advance warning from both directions. The rescue crew was later released to return to service for additional calls.

Remaining personnel had to go digging in various compartments to assist the driver of the vehicle. At this point things begin to look a bit MacGyver-esque.

File photo

“[The] crew found a spare tire in vehicle that was traveling with the vehicle that lost the tire, found a couple of the missing lug nuts and took some lug nuts from other tires and was able to get a tire on the trailer to get it off the road,” CBRFPD said.

In a word – it was nuts. The agency powered through and still had time to post on Facebook what all the sirens were about that day.

“There have been a few post on different pages today about all the sirens in Cannon Beach today so we thought we would give a quick account of today's events,” they said. “It is through a combination of daily staffing, dedicated full time firefighters that come back off duty, chief officers that come in on days off, volunteers that leave jobs, and partnerships with other agencies like Seaside Fire & Rescue that we are able to simultaneously staff calls for services.”

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