Despite early forecasts of a punishing 2025 wildfire season, Oregon escaped relatively unscathed. Less than 400,000 acres burned in 2025, only one-fifth of the 2 million acres ravaged the year before and well below the 10-year average of 680,000.
People from the community, tribal representatives, and state leaders came together at Blue Heron Park in Phoenix on Saturday, Nov. 1, to honor Indigenous land stewardship of the Rogue Valley and the collaborative spirit guiding its recovery since the 2020 Almeda Fire.
On Oct. 11, the city of Ashland conducted a full-scale Community Wildfire Evacuation Drill, engaging more than 300 residents, local agencies and partner organizations in a coordinated evacuation exercise.
After concerns were raised about how those in Ashland living without housing would evacuate during a wildfire, a local nonprofit issued an emergency plan for people staying on the city’s “night lawn,” Ashland’s designated camping area.
Hundreds turned out for Ashland’s first wildfire evacuation drill. The exercise tested how quickly cars, cyclists and those on foot could reach safety using the emergency on-ramp at North Mountain Avenue.
After having to adapt on the fly during the Almeda Fire five years ago, agencies across Jackson County now have 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, while local fire departments and the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) will focus on fighting the fire.
Ashland is slated to host a first-of-its-kind voluntary evacuation drill on Saturday, Oct. 11, giving people the opportunity to practice wildfire evacuation procedures in real time. Registration closes on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
The Moon Complex of fires in Curry and Coos counties is sending smoke into the Rogue Valley, prompting a warning from Jackson County health officials about dangerous air quality.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz said he is willing to return to in-person town halls if decorum and safety can be guaranteed. He specifically called out the group ORD2 Invisible, which Bentz said has orchestrated disruptions at meetings. The group pushed back, and said Bentz is scapegoating the organization to avoid accountability.
After more than two decades of service in every role within Ashland Fire & Rescue, Marshall Rasor has been named the department’s permanent fire chief. Rasor had been interim chief since March after Ralph Sartain retired.
Herbert Rothschild: We aren’t appreciably safer now than we were during the Cuban Missile Crisis. What else can we conclude but that nuclear policy simply mustn’t be left in the hands of the warmakers? Either we give peace a chance or we continue to chance self-immolation.
Despite early forecasts of a punishing 2025 wildfire season, Oregon escaped relatively unscathed. Less than 400,000 acres burned in 2025, only one-fifth of the 2 million acres ravaged the year before and well below the 10-year average of 680,000.
Former Ashland City Councilor and Trails Advisory Committee member Stefani Seffinger has filed ethics complaints with both the city and the state, arguing the committee acted unlawfully when it voted Nov. 19 to recommend a new beginner bike trail on the uphill side of Lithia Park. The city issued a 50-page rebuttal Monday, disputing her claims and forwarding the response to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. The proposed 1-mile Dormouse Trail would be the first designated bike trail through the park.
Obituary: Christine Charlotte Carpenter passed away at home after a long illness surrounded by loving friends from hermultiple circles of interest. Her artistry extended to personal expression beyond the theater, exploring surface embellishments on fabric and sculpture with a variety of mediums. Her work was exhibited nationally and internationally.
Men’s basketball: Southern Oregon will be eager to come home for the first time after failing to find its shooting touch on the road in non-conference play, a seven-game slate that concluded with Tuesday’s 73-69 loss to The Master’s (California) at Darling Pavilion
Pepper Trail: As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us imagine the world we share with every living thing. Let us give thanks for this planet, this blue and green ball spinning in a lifeless void, holding us all and making possible our every heartbeat, our every breath.
(It’s free)
