ODF engine crews from the Grants Pass Unit brought a halt to an 8-acre wildfire Wednesday afternoon along the edge of Interstate 5 near Milepost 68. Structural fire protection engines from Rural-Metro Fire Dept. pitched in with protecting homes and battling the wildfire. Traffic in I-5’s southbound lane crept past single-file as two helicopters, a bulldozer and numerous firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control. Crews remained on-scene until midnight, and have returned this morning to complete mop-up operations on the fire.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

ODF Medford Unit firefighters continue to mop up the 46-acre Rosebud Fire and the 9-acre Little Butte Creek Fire, both of which were caused by lightning from thunderstorms on Tuesday morning. The other fires caused by the storm have been extinguished or continue to be mopped up, and crews will be checking all of the fires today.

Late Wednesday, a holdover lightning-caused fire was discovered on 9 Mile Peak, south of Ruch in the Applegate drainage. Firefighters from the ODF’s Medford Unit, with the aid of a helicopter, controlled the fire at 1/4 acre.