Local, state and federal agencies will coordinate firefighter and police response; it’s up to residents to be prepared and help one another

By Sydney Seymour, Ashland.news

Despite having all hands on deck during the 2020 Almeda Fire, Kelly Burns, Ashland’s emergency preparedness manager and the initial response commander for Ashland Fire & Rescue at the time, said, “I felt like I didn’t have a plan.”

Now, agencies across Jackson County go over a shared wildfire evacuation plan that spells out each group’s duties.

Law enforcement leads the way

In the event of a citywide wildfire evacuation, local fire departments and the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) will focus on fighting the fire while local law enforcement are tasked with leading the evacuation.

“Communication is key for everybody involved,” Jackson County Sheriff’s public information officer Aaron Lewis said.

When a wildfire is reported to 911, the dispatch center notifies the local and state fire and law enforcement agencies. The first law enforcement officer who can get to the fire and then “intelligently determine what evacuations are needed” — whether it’s the Jackson County sheriff or a rookie officer from Oregon State Police — will determine where and at what level an evacuation is required, Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara said.

As more resources arrive, the decision of who leadsnthe evacuation depends on the fire’s location. Inside city limits, the local police department takes charge while others assist. Outside city limits, leadership falls to the county sheriff’s office.

To lead and coordinate the evacuation, an incident command post is established, where two initial commanders from both fire and law enforcement work in “unified command.” ODF plays a crucial role in determining the course of action.

“We provide as much of our expertise as we can when it comes to fire behavior and where the fire might be going,” Natalie Weber, ODF public information officer, said, “so that our partners can make more informed decisions when it comes to evacuations and what areas need to be evacuated.”

Getting the message out

Once law enforcement officials understand the scope of the wildfire, they notify county and city emergency managers of evacuation levels and zones. Then the emergency managers send evacuation notices to the public. Mapping tools such as the Genasys app will show users where evacuations are happening. Law enforcement also drives through the area announcing the emergency evacuation over speakers and door-to-door.

“Fire doesn’t care about borders,” Burns said.

With a recently formed shared template, Burns explained, evacuation notices across Jackson County are consistent and issued in both English and Spanish.

Coordinating resources

Within the city, law enforcement is also tasked with positioning officers and their equipment between the fire and communities, setting up roadblocks and ensuring home security for evacuated tenants. Only residents with identification are allowed back into evacuated areas.

“There are bad actors,” Burns said. “When an area is under evacuation orders, they try to get in because they know no one will be home.”

To recruit more help from the state, city and nearby areas, initial commanders use a mutual aid dispatch, which “establishes a system for all of the agencies to be at the table and come together for the operational side of things and communication,” Julie Denney, Oregon Department of Transportation public information officer, said.

In addition to providing extra staff for traffic control and closing streets to funnel state highway traffic, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) controls gateways to the freeway for Ashland, Talent, Phoenix and Medford.

During the Almeda Fire, however, O’Meara, the initial police commander, wasn’t informed about an Interstate 5 shutdown until traffic overwhelmed Ashland. That experience, he said, underscores the importance of deliberate communication with everybody involved in facilitating an evacuation and for every agency to be represented in person at a unified command post.

Ashland’s limited numbers

With typically only three police officers and eight firefighters on duty at a given time for Ashland’s 21,000 residents, emergency responders are stretched thin. “They can’t be everywhere,” Burns said.

When responders are overwhelmed, Ashland’s Community Emergency Response Team is “an organized group of your neighbors that are there to assist in disasters,” CERT volunteer Paul Collins said.

However, “In the end,” O’Meara said, “it’s incumbent on each one of us to have a plan and to be self-sufficient.”

He continued, “Nobody from an official capacity is going to be your ‘A’ plan and whisk you away to safety. We will do what we can, but we’re going to be overwhelmed.”

Considering the unrealistic expectation that local services can aid everyone in an evacuation, Burns and O’Meara both called for individuals in Ashland and the surrounding area to take responsibility for their own safety and know what to do in an evacuation.

What’s coming next for Ashland’s evacuation plans

As part of the final draft of Ashland’s 2025 Community Wildfire Protection Plan, Burns organized an evacuation task force including members from the city’s electric, street, and water departments, Ashland police, Ashland Fire & Rescue and ODOT. Those individuals will not only assist in facilitating an evacuation, but their goal is to plan and problem-solve the best ways to streamline an evacuation.

The city is also collaborating with ODOT for a community evacuation drill on Saturday, Oct. 11, specifically testing the North Mountain Avenue escape ramp, an evacuation route implemented after the Almeda Fire.

“It’s going to be the first big event,” Burns said, “and a lot of eyes are going to be on us to see how it goes.”

He hopes to hold such drills twice a year to prepare residents and encourage self-reliance during emergencies.

“We have to rely on the public to learn their routes, to be prepared to go, and then to help each other,” he said, “because the enemy we face is too great.”

Additionally, Burns and Jackson County Emergency Manager Shawn Richards are working to identify potential temporary evacuation points, or TEPs — wide-open spaces free of fuel for fires — as a safe backup location for those unable to leave cities.

They eventually hope to identify two TEPs per evacuation zone. For now, however, Burns urges residents to look for nearby wide-open spaces, like parking lots, as potential safe zones.

Email Ashland.news Snowden reporting intern Sydney Seymour at [email protected].

Related stories: 

Ashland to hold first-ever evacuation drill on Oct. 11 (Oct. 2, 2025)

‘What’s your plan?’: Ashlanders learn about evacuation readiness during interactive wildfire preparedness event (July 19, 2025)