July 9, 2025 11:05 a.m. 

Firefighters with the Oregon Department of Forestry are continuing to put up an aggressive attack on fires across Jackson and Josephine counties that were sparked by thunderstorms on Monday night.

Southwest Oregon District Public Information Officer Natalie Weber said in all, 72 fires have been identified on ODF-protected lands in the two counties. Weber said since the start of the storm, firefighters have worked nonstop to respond to all reports of tires, keeping them as small as possible with the limited resources that are currently available. ODF Complex Incident Management Team 3 is expected to take command of a portion of the fires, at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday.

The largest fire is the Neil Creek Road Fire, located west of Interstate 5 and south of Ashland. Its estimated to be 250 acres as of midday Wednesday and forced the closure of one lane of Interstate 5 southbound overnight between mile markers 8.5 and 10.5 Check www.tripcheck.com for updates.

High fire danger is in effect on ODF protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties.

For complete information on the fires, go to www.swofire.com or check the ODF Southwest Oregon District social media accounts.