Aggressive initial attack continues on lightning-caused fires across Jackson and Josephine counties, ODF Incident Management Team 3 ordered

July 8, 2025

JACKSON & JOSEPHINE COUNTIES, Ore. (July 8, 2025) – Firefighters continued an aggressive initial attack on numerous fires caused by thunderstorms Monday night, making significant progress on the largest fires initially identified, but also responding to multiple new reports of fire throughout the day on Tuesday. In total across Jackson and Josephine counties, 72 fires on ODF-protected land have been confirmed by reconnaissance flights, detection cameras and firefighters.

Due to the sheer volume of incidents, the potential for additional holdover fires and predicted dry thunderstorms tonight in Jackson County, the district has ordered Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Complex Incident Management Team 3, which will mobilize from ODF Districts across Oregon tomorrow morning. With direction from the district, the team will take command of a portion of the fires to free up local resources, bring in additional expertise and personnel, as well as give local firefighters a short reprieve before returning to initial attack readiness.

“Our firefighters have been working around the clock to keep these fires as small as we can, but resources are becoming limited, especially with other incidents across Oregon and the country competing for the same emergency response professionals,” ODF Southwest Oregon District Forester Dan Quinones said. “Bringing in ODF IMT 3 will allow us to regain our strength locally, handing some of these fires off to firefighters who hold the same drive to take them off the map as quickly as possible. Protecting our communities and putting out fires remain our top priorities.”

Tonight, the largest fires across the district include:

• The Heppsie Mountain Fire, located south of Highway 140. Firefighters made excellent progress on this incident today, lining 50% of the perimeter. Firefighters now estimate the fire to be closer to 40 acres. Engines, bulldozers and aircraft have been assigned to the fire and continue to fight the fire aggressively. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management have issued a Level 1 – BE READY for a possible evacuation from the following areas: JAC-325-B Heppsie Mountain Road south of Highway 140 and the zone immediately to the south, JAC-326. More information on current evacuations can be found here: https://protect.genasys.com/
• The Poole Hill Fire, located south of the Heppsie Mountain Fire. Firefighters are estimating the fire has grown to 12 – 15 acres, however they have made significant progress on the incident, lining 80% of the fire’s perimeter today. Numerous resources have been ordered for this incident tonight, including two 20-person crews, a water tender and additional engines. Evacuation notifications for the Heppsie Mountain Fire apply to this incident as well.
• The Pompadour Fire, located in the hills east of Ashland off of East Nevada Street and Pompadour Drive. Firefighters caught this fire at 38 acres and have completed lining and mopping up the entire incident. The resources assigned to this fire have been dispatched to new fire reports.
• The Deming Gulch Fire, located northeast of Buncom, is currently estimated at 350 acres. Numerous resources are engaged on the fire, including engines and bulldozers. Firefighters are working to line the fire. There are currently no evacuation notices on this incident.
• The Neil Creek Road Fire, located west of I5 mile marker 10 and south of Ashland. Firefighters are holding the fire at 35 acres with several successful retardant drops this afternoon. Traffic to I5 is not being impacted by this fire. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management have placed Zone JAC-543 under Level 1 – Be Ready to evacuate notice and zones JAC-536, JAC-542 and JAC-558 under a Level 2 – Be Set to evacuate notice. More information on current evacuations can be found here: https://protect.genasys.com/
• The Jim Me Peak Fire, located in a remote area south of Applegate. This fire is estimated to be 30 acres and resources are engaged in an aggressive initial attack. Multiple 20-person crews, engines and bulldozers are being ordered to work on this fire overnight and continue progress on lining the fire’s edge.
• The Palmer Peak Fire, located to the southeast of the Jim Me Peak Fire. Currently estimated to be 20 acres, firefighters are continuing an aggressive initial attack. Engines, a bulldozer and aircraft have been working on this incident.

Numerous additional fires have been stopped at a small size and are 100% lined and mopped up this evening. All other staffed fires are estimated to be between 1/10 of an acre and 10 acres in size. Numerous reconnaissance flights have provided invaluable information throughout the day, allowing firefighters to be strategic about resources needed, helping to prioritize where the greatest needs are. The majority of these fires are located on steep slopes high in elevation where lightning naturally strikes, creating the added challenge of navigating to and accessing the fires. Aircraft has played a vital role in slowing the spread of numerous fires, allowing firefighters to gain access and begin initial attack. The ODF Southwest Oregon Detection Center has also been monitoring cameras in these strike areas today and helped to confirm smoke or fires found across the district when aircraft was unable for reconnaissance.

ODF resources are continuing to work with our federal partners at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in response to these fires, as well as local and county structural fire departments. This teamwork is a direct reflection of the complete and coordinated fire response system in place here in southern Oregon.

High fire danger is currently in effect on ODF-protected land in Jackson and Josephine counties; as firefighters work to extinguish these natural fire starts, help prevent new human-caused fires from sparking by following all regulations currently in place: https://swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions/

For fire information anytime, visit our Facebook page, @ODFSouthwest or our website, www.swofire.com.

Firefighters responding to more than 50 reports of fires following thunderstorms in Jackson and Josephine counties

July 8, 2025

JACKSON & JOSEPHINE COUNTIES, Ore. (July 8, 2025) – Firefighters with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Southwest Oregon District are continuing to respond to 53 reports of smoke and fire following thunderstorms that moved through Jackson and Josephine counties Monday evening. Of the 53 reports, 17 have been found to be duplicates or not fires, resulting in 22 confirmed fires across the district and an additional 14 reports that are pending. Resources have been engaged on these 22 incidents all night, and as a result, seven are already 100% lined and mopped up, leaving 15 active and staffed. As fires are lined and mopped up, resources are continually being dispatched to pending calls.

This morning, firefighters remain engaged on three major fires, the largest being an estimated 50 acres in size. The following is a current look at incident status:

• The Heppsie Mountain Fire, located off of Highway 140 north of Lake Creek. Estimated to be 50 acres, this fire is located on steep terrain with numerous hazard trees. Overnight, large trees were falling while firefighters were working in the area. Resources ordered for today’s dayshift include four 20-person crews, five bulldozers, three sets of tree fallers, two water tenders and one engine, totaling 100 personnel. Additionally, two Large Air Tankers (LATs), two Type 1 helicopters and an air attack plane have also been ordered. Firefighters will focus on falling hazard trees and working to line the fire and keep it as small as possible.
• The Poole Hill Fire, located south of the Heppsie Mountain Fire across South Fork Little Butte Creek Road, is estimated to be three to five acres. Firefighters are actively engaged on this incident. Due to the proximity of the Heppsie Mountain and Poole Hill fires, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management issued a Level 1 – BE READY evacuation notice for the 11000-block of South Fork Little Butte Creek Road last night, which remains in place this morning. More information is available here: https://protect.genasys.com/. This is the only current evacuation notice in place on any fire. Additional fire reports have been made in this area; recon flights beginning at 8:00 a.m. will provide additional information to firefighters on the ground.
• The Pompadour Fire, located in the hills east of Ashland off of East Nevada Street and Pompadour Drive. Firefighters were able to line 100% of the fire’s perimeter and stop its growth at 38 acres. Overnight, resources began mop-up operations and have completed 10%. Today, four 20-person crews, two bulldozers and one engine are assigned to the fire, totaling 86 personnel. Aircraft will be ordered as needed.

All other staffed fires are estimated to be between 1/10 of an acre and six acres. This morning, two reconnaissance flights will be launching at 8:00 a.m., covering all strike areas across the district. These flights will provide better information in the daylight of current fires, and allow us to get eyes on pending reports, confirm duplicate reports and provide insight on fire status to be strategic with ordering and dispatching resources. The ODF Southwest Oregon Detection Center will also be monitoring cameras in these strike areas today and reporting any smoke or fires found across the district.

Last night, a strike team of five engines from the ODF Southern Oregon Area arrived and were dispatched to fires; this morning, another five-engine strike team is mobilizing from the ODF Northwest Oregon Area. The district has also ordered an additional two 20-person crews, seven engines, one water tender and one bulldozer to be available where needed as initial attack on these fires continues. In total, 266 personnel are assigned to these fires for today’s dayshift, and more resources will be ordered and assigned for Tuesday night where needed.

ODF resources are continuing to work with our federal partners at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in response to these fires, as well as local and county structural fire departments. This teamwork is a direct reflection of the complete and coordinated fire response system in place here in southern Oregon.

High fire danger is currently in effect on ODF-protected land in Jackson and Josephine counties; as firefighters work to extinguish these natural fire starts, help prevent new human-caused fires from sparking by following all regulations currently in place: https://swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions/

For fire information anytime, visit our Facebook page, @ODFSouthwest or our website, www.swofire.com.

ODF’s aggressive initial attack keeps multiple fires small

July 3, 2025

Salem, Ore. – Since Monday, the Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Southern and Eastern Oregon Area firefighters have responded to over 100 new fire starts, both lightning and human-caused, and anticipate more to come during the holiday weekend. Through the agency’s aggressive initial attack tactics, most of the fires have been contained to an average of about half an acre.

In the Southern Oregon Area (all ODF-protected land from around Eugene down to the California border west of the Cascades), ODF firefighters and resources have responded to 10 lightning-caused fires and 43 human-caused fires since Monday.

In the Eastern Oregon Area (all ODF-protected land east of the Cascades), ODF firefighters and resources from the Klamath-Lake, Central Oregon, and Northeast Oregon Districts have responded to over 65 new fire starts, most of which were caused by lightning. Alongside the lightning, firefighters in this area have faced the added difficulty of dry and windy conditions, making the fires more difficult to catch and suppress.

On top of their initial attack efforts, the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Central Oregon District responded to and supported the extended attack operations for the Grizzly Flat fire (624 acres) and the Larch Creek Fire (92 acres). Both fire’s forward progression has been stopped. In addition, the Klamath-Lake District went into extended attack and suppressed the Bowers Bridge Fire (40 acres).

Fire managers anticipate these numbers will double over the weekend due to human activities like fireworks, which are prohibited in state forests and on ODF-protected land.

With the recent lightning in both areas, it’s important for Oregonians to help prevent wildfire by checking local restrictions before bringing fire hazards onto the landscape and actively practicing wildfire prevention while they recreate.

We can’t prevent lightning-caused fires, but by preventing human-caused fires we can help reduce the strain on Oregon’s firefighters and other resources.

Oregon recognizes National Wildland Firefighter Day

July 2, 2025

Salem, Ore. – In support of Oregon’s wildland firefighters on National Wildland Firefighter Day, Governor Tina Kotek has issued a proclamation declaring July 2, 2025, Wildland Firefighter Day in the state of Oregon.

“In a state with such prevalent wildfire, we are so thankful to the firefighters, dispatchers and support personnel who work long hours, day after day, protecting our communities and natural resources. And we remember those that have fallen in the line of service,” Michael Curran, the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Fire Protection Division Chief, said.

The Oregon Department of Forestry would like to thank the thousands of local, state, tribal, federal, and contract firefighters, along with all the dispatchers, map creators, IT specialists, equipment operators, radio technicians, prevention specialists, and everyone else who has a role in Oregon’s wildfire response.

Wildland Firefighter Day occurs every year during the Wildland Firefighter Week of Remembrance (June 30-July 6). The Week of Remembrance was established in 2014 and is bookended by the dates of two significant tragedies in the wildland firefighter community: Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona on June 30, 2013, and the South Canyon fire in Colorado on July 6, 1994. On the Yarnell Hill fire, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed when a weather shift intensified the fire and cut off the firefighters’ escape route. On the South Canyon fire, 14 wildland firefighters were killed on Storm King Mountain when they were entrapped by spot fires. This week honors those lost in the line of duty while also focusing on improving wildland firefighter safety to mitigate risk as best we can in an inherently dangerous career field.