Firefighters Contain 10 Lightning-Sparked Wildfires Across Jackson County

Medford, Oregon- Firefighters with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Southwest Oregon District responded to 15 fire reports on Tuesday following a series of thunderstorms that moved through the region Monday night. Of those reports, 10 fires were confirmed and quickly contained, thanks to coordinated efforts by ODF crews and federal partners from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

All 10 fires are either fully extinguished or completely lined and holding within their current footprints. The largest, the East Trail Creek Road Fire, reached 12 acres in size.

Aerial reconnaissance, drone surveillance, and camera systems from the ODF Detection Center helped firefighters locate ignitions early. With rapid deployment of ground and air resources, ODF’s goal of extinguishing fires quickly and at small sizes was achieved across all incidents.

Incident Overview (by size):

East Trail Creek Road Fire – Located north of Trail near the 6000-block of Highway 227. Held at 12 acres and is 100% lined. Mop-up operations are ongoing with additional overnight resources including three 20-person crews, 10 engines, a water tender, and a bulldozer. Aircraft remain on standby until sundown.

Alder Creek Fire – Northwest of Prospect on private and USFS land. Held at 2 acres. Turned over to USFS for mop-up.

Hibbard Creek Fire – Also northwest of Prospect. Held at 0.5 acres. Mop-up in progress.

Star Gulch Fire – In remote terrain southeast of Williams. Stopped at 0.25 acres. Fully lined and mopped up.

Beaver Dam Fire – Along Big Elk Road south of Fish Lake. Stopped at 1/10 acre on USFS land. Fully lined and mopped up.

Daily Creek Fire – South of Fish Lake on USFS land. Held at 1/10 acre. Fully lined and 75% mopped up before being turned over to USFS.

Summit Prairie Fire – Southeast of Lost Creek Lake. Contained at 1/100 acre. Fully lined and mopped up.

Mule Creek Fire – Southeast of Lost Creek Lake. Contained at 1/100 acre. Fully lined and mopped up.

Laurelhurst Fire – On the southeastern shore of Lost Creek Lake. Contained at 1/100 acre. Fully lined and mopped up.

Halls Point Fire – Northwest of Prospect on USFS land. Contained at 1/100 acre. Fully lined and transferred to USFS.

Firefighters investigated five additional reports where no active fire or smoke was located. A 3 p.m. reconnaissance flight confirmed no further activity in known strike zones. Additional monitoring will continue, with another flight planned for Wednesday morning.

Effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the fire danger level will increase to High on ODF-protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties. With natural fire starts under control, officials are asking the public to prevent new human-caused ignitions by following current fire restrictions.