signss.jpeg

Signs that pinpoint locations on the Oregon Coast, left, are paired with signs with matching numbers as well as hazards to avoid and prohibited activities.

(Oregon State Parks)

Oregon's beaches are going green, neon greenish-yellow to be precise.

Recent visitors have noted a new series of bright numbered signs popping up along the dunes of the coast, which stretches for 363 miles from the tip of Fort Stevens State Park in the north to Crissey Field State Park at the California border.

The new signs -- numbered from 1 to 197 and measuring 36 inches wide and 24 inches high -- are part of a safety program designed to get people help quickly in an emergency, Oregon State Parks and Recreation officials say.

The vivid signs are prominently positioned facing the beach. Their numbers can be relayed to 911 dispatchers who can tie the number to a GPS location as well as the closest beach access point, be it a trail, a road or a parking lot.

The signs vary in distance from one another -- as close as one-quarter of a mile in some areas to 2 miles apart where beach access is more limited.

"It can be confusing locating a victim offshore or on the beach," said North Lincoln Fire & Rescue Captain Jim Kusz. "They've proven to be an excellent aid for our water rescue team and in coordinating our rescue efforts with the United States Coast Guard and other agencies."

Kusz said a lot of visitors to the coast are there for the first time, and a majority of them don't know a specific beach's name or other reference points. The numbers eliminate the confusion. Coast Guard rescuers from the water can use binoculars to read the numbers.

"A caller to 911 can say, 'Hey, I see a big number,' and we can get there to help," he said.

The first signs went up in 2008 near Lincoln City and also at Devil's Lake, said Calum Stevenson, an Oregon State Parks ocean shore specialist. They were part of a $78,000 program financed by visitor fees, the Oregon Lottery and coastal communities.

Stevenson said another 200 new safety signs at beach access points warn visitors of the dangers of rip currents, sneaker waves and rolling logs. They also list prohibited activities, such as setting off fireworks, littering, camping, cliff climbing and using chainsaws.

Those access signs also have the same number of the larger signs planted on the dunes.

Stevenson said so far the reaction of visitors and residents has been mostly positive, although some residents with houses right along the shore were not thrilled with having to look at the back of a large sign.

"Unfortunately, accidents happen on the beach," Stevenson said. "Rolling logs, rip tides and unstable cliffs are all potentially dangerous. If people need help they won't need the name of the beach, they just need the number."

Stevenson said that to date, parks workers have installed 424 new signs along the coast except for some private access points and cities that have yet to come on board.

About 45 miles of U.S. Forest Service land between Florence and Coos Bay is also unsigned, but parks officials are working with the agency to "resolve archaeological and other issues on federal land before proceeding with the project," he said.

-- Stuart Tomlinson

stomlinson@oregonian.com

503-221-8313

@ORweather