Oregon Department of Forestry reports 72 fire starts on lands they protect, with the largest south of Ashland off Interstate 5

By Ryan Pfeil and Steve Mitchell, Ashland.news

The Oregon Department of Forestry continued its firefight on multiple fires in Jackson and Josephine counties Wednesday after a Monday thunderstorm sparked 72 blazes on lands protected by the agency, according to fire officials.

The Neil Creek Road Fire, which had grown to about 250 acres by Wednesday morning, was the largest of the bunch, according to an ODF Southwest news release. Located south of Ashland and west of Interstate 5, the blaze forced the closure of a southbound freeway lane between mile markers 8.5 and 10.5, fire officials said. Additionally, the fire has spurred Level 2 evacuation notices for zones surrounding the fire area, including JAC-536, JAC-558, JAC-559, JAC-546, JAC-542, and JAC-543, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

A Level 2 “Get Set” evacuation notice means “Oregonians should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, as this level indicates there is significant danger to the area,” according to Jackson County Emergency Management’s website. “The public should be prepared to voluntarily relocate to a shelter or with family/friends outside of the affected area. They may have time to gather necessary items, but doing so is at their own risk.”

Kelly Burns, Ashland’s emergency management coordinator, said roughly 60 to 100 homes are at risk in the Neil Creek Road area. He said the blaze also threatens Ashland’s watershed and other recreation areas.

Visit protect.genasys.com for updated information on evacuation notices. Visit tripcheck.com for updated road conditions in the area.

“Building a line around the fire’s perimeter will continue to be the main objective today, with structural firefighters staging to protect homes and outbuildings in the nearby area,” an ODF news release said of the Neil Creek Road Fire.

Putting a protective line in place leaves little chance for the fire to move beyond it.

Natalie Weber, public information officer with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said more than 60 firefighters are battling the blaze. She added that the Oregon State Fire Marshal brought in crews from Benton and Lane counties to protect structures. Along with the crews on the ground, she said aerial resources, including helicopters, are being used for retardant drops.

Burns said the current winds are expected to keep the fire from spreading as crews work to establish a protective line around the blaze.

The Deming Gulch Fire, northeast of Buncom in the Applegate, grew to about 200 acres by Wednesday morning, ODF reported, though no evacuation advisories for that fire were in effect yet. Firefighters will work to line the blaze today, with six 20-person crews and a bulldozer assigned to the incident, and aircraft used “as needed,” officials said.

Additional fires in the district include:

The Heppsie Mountain Fire, located south of Highway 140. The 40-acre fire is 50% lined and 30% contained overall. Level 1 — “Be Ready” — evacuation notices remain in effect for JAC-325-B and JAC-326.

The Poole Hill Fire is located south of the Heppsie Mountain Fire. The fire is about 15 acres, and firefighters have built 80% of their line. Crews will work Wednesday to close the perimeter, if possible, though steep slopes in the fire area remain an obstacle to that work.

The Jim Me Peak Fire is located in a remote area south of Applegate. The 40-acre fire burned into another small nearby fire named the Ladybug Gulch Fire, which was originally 4.5 acres.

“Resources continue to be engaged in an aggressive attack,” the ODF release said. “Multiple 20-person crews, engines and bulldozers have been ordered and will continue progress on lining the fire’s edge today.”

The Palmer Peak Fire, located to the southeast of the Jim Me Peak Fire, has grown to about 90 acres.

“Firefighters are continuing an aggressive attack. Engines, a bulldozer and aircraft have been working on this incident and will continue to (Wednesday),” the release said.

ODF officials said they would brief firefighters in Complex Incident Management Team 3 at noon Wednesday “to take a portion of the fires off the district’s plate, allowing local firefighters to focus on a smaller number of lingering fires and be ready for any new reports of fire that could come in,” the news release said.

Team 3 will assume command of their assigned fires at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

All told, 435 firefighters will be at work containing the blazes on Wednesday.

“Additional resources are continuing to be ordered as needed, however some have not readily been available due to current state and nationwide incidents,” the release said. “Despite these challenges, firefighters have successfully extinguished 11 fires across the district, the largest being the Pompadour Fire located east of Ashland at 38 acres. This work has been done in partnership with our local and federal partners. Collectively as a firefighting system, our continued goal is to keep all fires as small as possible and extinguish them as fast as we can.”

High fire danger remains in effect on ODF-protected land in Jackson and Josephine counties. Fire restrictions in effect can be viewed at swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions.

Burns said the region is “fully” in fire season. He said residents should remain vigilant and get their information from trusted sources.

He said among those trusted sources of information are the Oregon Department of Forestry’s website and Facebook page.

Email Ashland.news web editor Ryan Pfeil at ryanp@ashland.news. Email Ashland.news associate editor Steve Mitchell at stevem@ashland.news.