Neil Creek Road Fire has burned an estimated 250 acres as of about 9:30 p.m.; authorities say no threat to city of Ashland

Ashland.news staff report

Residents of broad swaths land south of Ashland and west of Interstate 5 should be ready to evacuate due to the Neil Creek Road Fire, according to evacuation notices issued by county emergency officials Tuesday afternoon.

Level 2 Be Set evacuation notices were initially issued for Jackson County evacuation zones JAC-536, 542 and 558. An additional zone, 543, east of I-5 was on Level 1 Be Ready status most of the afternoon, but was upgraded to Level 2 Be Set shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to a text from the emergency alert system, and zones 546 and 559 were added at the Level 2 Be Set level. (To find your evacuation zone, click here. You can also visit ashlandoregon.gov/KnowYourZone for zones within the Ashland city limits.)

Fire officials said shortly after 3 p.m. that there’s no risk to the city of Ashland at this time.

Neil Creek Road south of Ashland is closed for safety due to fire activity in the area, the county roads department announced shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday.  Fire personnel are using the road for access and the general public should avoid the area. 

Retardant drops made about 3 p.m. helped slow the fire’s progress as ground crews continue to engage in an aggressive initial attack, according to an update from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Southwest Oregon District. Type 1 helicopters are conducting water tank drops strategically over the fire to slow progress.

The Neil Creek Fire started in the area of the 1000 block of Neil Creek Road south of Ashland and west of I-5 mile-marker 10. Firefighters areFirefighters responded shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday.

According to the area ODF Facebook page evening update at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Neil Creek Road Fire was holding at 35 acres after several successful retardant drops in the afternoon. The Watch Duty app, meanwhile, in a post also at about 8 p.m., said there was unconfirmed radio report that the fire was at 70 acres, and at 9:30 p.m. reported an air attack plane over the fire estimated its size at 250 acres stretching along the southbound side of the Interstate.

Number of fires started by lightning

The blaze comes as firefighters were busy responding to fires started by a series of thunderstorms that rolled through the area Monday evening. ODF was responding to 53 reports of smoke and fire Tuesday morning, according to an earlier update, with 22 confirmed fires across the district, 17 found to be duplicates or not fires, and 14 pending.

Resources were dispatched to pending calls as fires were lined and mopped up, ODF said, including the Pompadour Fire in the hills east of Ashland off East Nevada Street and Pompadour Drive that started Monday evening. Firefighters were able to line 100% of the fire’s perimeter and stop its growth at 38 acres. By Tuesday evening firefighters had mopped up the entire incident and moved on to new fire reports.

ODF firefighters continue to work with federal partners at the U.S. Forest Service Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in response to these fires, as well as local and county structural fire departments, according to an ODF news release.

The southwest area of Oregon is at limited risk of lightning strikes into the evening Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service office in Medford. Storms are more likely in northern Lake and Klamath counties.

In its Tuesday evening update, ODF said in total across Jackson and Josephine counties on Tuesday, 72 fires on ODF-protected land have been confirmed by reconnaissance flights, detection cameras and firefighters.

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