JACKSON & JOSEPHINE COUNTIES, Ore. (July 11, 2025)—Resources from Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Complex Incident Management Team 3, and district resources working on non-complex lightning fires, continued to make progress across all the fires across Jackson and Josephine counties, with most being fully lined and several moving to mop-up status.
ODF Complex Incident Management Team 3 is in command of a group of lightning fires dubbed the Grizzly Complex that started on Monday. The team is also fighting the Neil Creek Road Fire west of Interstate 5 near Ashland. ODF Southwest Oregon District continues suppression efforts on additional fires within the district.
More than 1,500 personnel are assigned to the Grizzly Complex and Neil Creek Road Fire. These crews and resources continue to provide relief to local district personnel, allowing them to continue work on other fires within the district and respond to potential new fire starts.
“We have had these fires for a little over 36 hours and the progress we have made has been aggressive and steady” said ODF CIMT 3 Deputy Incident Commander Eric Perkins. “The team resources, along with the local resources, are making incredible progress across the incidents.”
Today, the following fires remain the largest incidents under ODF CIMT3 Incident Management:
- The Neil Creek Road Fire – located west of I-5 mile marker 10 and south of Ashland. Today, crews increased the line, wrapping almost completely around the fire. Overnight, the crews will work to complete additional direct line and continue to increase mop-up operations across the whole perimeter. With updated mapping, the fire is now estimated to be closer to 200 acres. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management downgraded some evacuation notices. Zones JAC-542, JAC-543, JAC-546, JAC-558 and JAC-559 under a Level 2 – Be Set. Zone JAC-536 is now downgraded to a Level 1 – Be Ready. More information on current evacuations can be found at: https://protect.genasys.com/. One lane of I-5 is closed between mile markers 8.5 and 10.5 on southbound lanes only. Check tripcheck.com for up-to-date traffic information.
- The Deming Gulch Fire – located northeast of Buncom. The fire is currently estimated at 250 acres. Firefighters have completed hose lays and increased mop up around the fire to a depth between 10-50 feet into the perimeter, creating a stronger line around the fire. There are currently no evacuation notices on this incident.
- The North Fork Deer Creek Fire – located in the hills above the 8000-block of Deer Creek Road east of Selma. Crews continue mop-up operations and building depth to 100 feet into the interior of the fire and keeping it at 42 acres. There are no current evacuation orders for this incident.
- The Jim Me Peak Fire – located in a remote area south of Applegate. Firefighters continued to remain heavily engaged in an aggressive attack while being successful in building a hand line around most of the fire perimeter where the fire crossed lines yesterday. Overnight crews will continue to increase mop-up where they can. The fire is estimated at 70 acres.
- The Palmer Peak Fire – located to the southeast of the Jim Me Peak Fire. Line is completed around the fire and mop up operations have built lines with a 50-foot depth into the interior. The fire is currently estimated to be 90 acres.
- The Holcomb Peak Fire – located southwest of Williams. Today, firefighters continued to bolster the line, increasing mop up to depths of 50-100 feet into the interior of the fire.
- The Sulfur Springs Fire – located southeast of Buncom and Cinnabar Mountain. Crews continued to build depth to the line, adding hose lays to allow for water access across the incident. Today, they also started to build depth to the line into the interior. Mop up will continue to push forward.
- The Benson Gulch Fire, – south of Applegate Road and Button Butte, west of Buncom. This fire is fully lined at 13 acres, plumbed with hose and in mop-up operations.
The following fires are managed by the ODF District:
- The Heppsie Mountain Fire – located south of Highway 140. Firefighters continued with mop-up efforts today, making progress across the fire. No new growth today and it remains at an estimated to be 50 acres total. A Level 1 – BE READY for a possible evacuation remains in place for: JAC-325-B Heppsie Mountain Road south of Highway 140 and the zone immediately to the south, JAC-326. More information on current evacuations issued by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management can be found here: https://protect.genasys.com/.
- The Poole Hill Fire – located south of the Heppsie Mountain Fire. Firefighters were able to increase mop-up efforts 50-feet into the interior of the fire, holding it at 12 acres. This work will continue overnight. Evacuation notifications for the Heppsie Mountain Fire apply to this incident as well.
Most of these fires were caused by lightning strikes following thunderstorms Monday night. Other small fires are still staffed across the district.
Aircraft continues to be a critical asset and was used throughout the day. As a reminder, drone use around fires is illegal, and incredibly dangerous to pilots working on incidents; if you fly, we can’t. All illegal drone use will be reported to law enforcement.
Due to the large number of fires, updates on smaller incidents are not being provided at this time; if conditions change and there are any threats to homes, communities or roads, information will be provided as timely and accurately as possible.
Temperatures are expected to reach triple digits this weekend, which will naturally increase fire activity. While resources remain engaged on these lightning-caused incidents, communities can help to prevent new fires from starting by following all current fire regulations, found here: https://swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions/.
For fire local information anytime, visit the district’s Facebook page, @ODFSouthwest or website, www.swofire.com.