What is the oldest tree in Coos Bay?
The oldest and tallest tree in Coos County is the Doerner Fir, a Douglas fir of roughly 450 years on BLM land off Upper East Fork Brummit Road, reached by a signed trailhead about an hour's drive from Roseburg. Until August 2025 it was the tallest known Douglas fir on Earth at 325.8 feet, or 99.3 metres. That month a fire of unexplained origin burned for several days in its crown; firefighters put it out and the tree lived, but it lost around fifty feet off the top and the record with it. No official remeasurement has been published since, so the height given here, about 84 metres, is an approximation from press coverage rather than a survey. Access is free, on public land, by a short marked trail.
The Doerner Fir stands on BLM land in the Coast Range of eastern Coos County, off Upper East Fork Brummit Road. There is no public transport and no shortcut. The usual approach is about an hour's drive from Roseburg, mostly on paved BLM forest road with the last four and a half miles on gravel, and that road is not maintained through the winter, so check conditions before setting out. The trailhead has its own parking area and a register to sign, and from there a short marked trail drops to the tree. All of it is free and open. What waits at the bottom changed in August 2025, when a fire burned for several days in the crown and firefighters worked it until it was out. The tree came through. It lost roughly fifty feet off the top and with it the title of tallest known Douglas fir on Earth, previously measured at 325.8 feet, among the tallest non-redwood trees recorded anywhere. It was known as the Brummit Fir before it was renamed for a Douglas County commissioner.
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