June 8, 2026 10:40 a.m.   

Covering coastal Douglas County:

One person was taken to the hospital after a vehicle caught fire following a wreck on Saturday.

An Oregon State Police report said just after 12:00 p.m. troopers responded to the crash on Highway 38 near Milepost 13 in the Loon Lake area. A pickup was eastbound on the highway when the driver stated that he dipped the tires off the eastbound edge of the road. Before the driver could get the pickup out of the ditch, it struck the rock outcropping from the mountain side.

The driver, a 70-year-old Reedsport man, and a passenger were assisted from the vehicle with the help of bystanders just before the pickup caught fire. The passenger was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Staff with Coos Forest Protection Association responded as a wildfire had begun. The highway was closed in the area for nearly 3 hours while the wildfire was extinguished.

The driver was cited for not having an operator’s license. A towing coming recovered the vehicle.