Fire by northbound lanes of I-5 south of Ashland stopped at 1 acre

A semitruck fire spread from the northbound lanes into nearby brush just north of a railroad overpass near milemarker 12 on Interstate 5 about 2 miles south of Ashland on Tuesday afternoon. Ashland Fire & Rescue photo by Battalion Chief Nick Palmesano
September 23, 2025

Vehicle fire spread to vegetation along northbound lanes just north of Exit 11

Ashland.news staff report

Update: 5:47 p.m. Tuesday

One lane of northbound Interstate 5 is open, according to Julie Denney, public information officer with the Oregon Department of Transportation.

A red “map pin” shows the approximate location of a vehicle fire that spread to vegetation just north of the Exit 11 overpass on Interstate 5 south of Ashland. Screen capture from PulsePoint app
ORIGINAL POST

A fire by Interstate 5 south of Ashland has been stopped at 1 acre in size, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Southwest District reported at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Northbound lanes of Interstate 5 remain closed while firefighters mop up the fire.

A vehicle fire on the northbound side spread to vegetation nearby, according to reports from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) as reported on the Watch Duty app.

“We’re responding with our structural partners,” ODF said in its initial report. “Firefighters on scene estimate the fire has spread to half an acre in the surrounding vegetation.

“Resources are engaging in an aggressive initial attack, and our Type 1 helicopter out of Ashland has been ordered.”

The fire was reported at 2:41 p.m., according to the PulsePoint app.

Email Ashland.news at [email protected].

A semitruck fire spread from the northbound lanes into nearby brush near milemarker 12 on Interstate 5 about 2 miles south of Ashland on Tuesday afternoon. Ashland Fire & Rescue photo by Battalion Chief Nick Palmesano
Smoke (top right center) rises from a fire near milemarker 12 as seen in this screengrab from an ODOT traffic camera at milepost 13.
Northbound semitrucks are backed up along Siskiyou Boulevard south of Ashland after northbound lanes of Interstate 5 were closed Tuesday afternoon due to a fire that spread from a vehicle to vegetation. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Semi-trailers make a turn off Siskiyou Boulevard onto Crowson Road on the south end of Ashland Tuesday afternoon, on their way back to the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 after making a brief detour to avoid interfering with firefighting efforts near milemarker 12 along the highway just south of Ashland. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini
Semitrucks and other vehicles are backed up on the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milemarker 10, as seen in this screengrab from ODOT webcam video on Tuesday afternoon.
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Bert Etling

Bert Etling is the executive editor of Ashland.news. Email him at [email protected].

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