JACKSON & JOSEPHINE COUNTIES, Ore. (July 9, 2025) – The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Southwest Oregon District is continuing to put up an aggressive attack on fires across Jackson and Josephine counties that were sparked by thunderstorms Monday night. In all, 72 have been identified on ODF-protected land in the two counties, and since the start of the storm, firefighters have worked nonstop to respond to all reports of fire, keeping them as small as possible with the limited resources that are currently available. This morning, Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Complex Incident Management Team 3 will in-brief at noon 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. Team 3 is expected to take command of their assigned incidents at 6:00 p.m. tonight.
Overnight, firefighters remained engaged on fires across both counties, the largest being the Neil Creek Road Fire located west of I5 and south of Ashland. It’s estimated to be 250 acres and forced the closure of one lane of I5 southbound overnight between mile markers 8.5 and 10.5. This lane closure is still currently in effect, check tripcheck.com for updates. This fire has also prompted the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management to place Level 2 evacuation notices into effect for the surrounding area; all evacuation information can be found here: https://protect.genasys.com/. The second largest fire is the Deming Gulch Fire located northeast of Buncom, estimated at 200 acres this morning. No evacuation notices are currently in effect for this incident.
“We recognize how these fires are affecting our communities, and that’s why our attack on them has been so aggressive from the start,” ODF Southwest Oregon District Forester Dan Quinones said. “With the amount of lightning and limited rain that came with Monday’s storm, we knew the possibility of a large number of fires across the district was on the table, and we geared up to fight. That is a position that we have not let up on since then. Our communities can be proud of our local firefighters – they answered the call two days ago and have tirelessly continued to since then.”
This morning, the largest fires across the district include:
- The Neil Creek Road Fire, located west of I5 mile marker 10 and south of Ashland. Firefighters are estimating the fire is 250 acres and were finding and extinguishing spot fires overnight due to windy conditions. 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. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management have placed Zones JAC-536, JAC-542, JAC-543, JAC-546, JAC-558 and JAC-559 under a Level 2 – Be Set to evacuate notice. More information on current evacuations can be found here: https://protect.genasys.com/. One lane of I5 southbound is closed between mile markers 8.5 and 10.5. Check tripcheck.com for traffic information.
- The Deming Gulch Fire, located northeast of Buncom, is currently estimated at 200 acres. Firefighters remained engaged on the fire overnight, including engines and bulldozers. Firefighters are working to line the fire and today, six 20-person crews and a bulldozer are assigned to this incident. Aircraft will also be used as needed. There are currently no evacuation notices on this incident.
- The Heppsie Mountain Fire, located south of Highway 140. The fire remains 50% lined and is considered 30% contained overall. Strong winds threatened the lines built around the fire, but resources were able to keep it in its current footprint of an estimated 40 acres overnight. One engine, five bulldozers, four sets of tree fallers, four 20-person crews and aircraft will continue to be assigned to the fire today. Steep slopes and falling trees continue to be hazards to firefighters on this incident. 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. The fire is still estimated to be between 12 – 15 acres, however firefighters continue to make progress, holding onto the 80% of line that was built through strong winds. Work will continue today with the goal of closing the perimeter if possible, however steep slopes are creating a challenge to firefighters. Evacuation notifications for the Heppsie Mountain Fire apply to this incident as well.
- The Jim Me Peak Fire, located in a remote area south of Applegate. This fire is estimated to be 40 acres and has burned into another small nearby fire named the Ladybug Gulch Fire, which was originally 4.5 acres. These two fere caused by lightning strikes located in very close proximity, which led to the fires burning into one. Resources continue to be engaged in an aggressive attack. 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. Currently estimated to be 90 acres, firefighters are continuing an aggressive attack. Engines, a bulldozer and aircraft have been working on this incident and will continue to today.
Across all incidents, 435 personnel will be working today’s dayshift. Additional resources are continuing to be ordered as needed, however some have not readily been available due to current state and nationwide incidents. 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 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.