March 15, 2025
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Pair of fires near Lithia Park were human caused, investigators say

Firefighters hose down a fire on a hillside above the east side of Lithia Park off Glenview Drive on Thursday afternoon. Ashland Fire & Rescue photo
September 29, 2022

Area burned limited to about three-quarters of an acre on Glenview Drive

By Bert Etling, Ashland.news

Firefighters swarmed and quickly controlled a pair of fires Thursday about 500 feet apart on a hillside on the east side of Lithia Park in the 500 block of Glenview Drive, near where it meets Ashland Loop Road. The human-caused fires are under investigation by an Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) investigator aided by Ashland Fire & Rescue (AFR).

A red map pin marks the approximate location of a fire off Glenview Drive in Ashland on Thursday. ODF map

The fires, reported at 4:44 p.m., sent pillars of smoke wafting over town, but firefighters from AFR, ODF and Jackson County Fire District No. 5 had a line around the fires by 5:30 p.m. and in the mop-up stage by 6:40 p.m. Total area burned was held to about three-quarters of an acre.

Mild conditions made the fires spread slowly, AFR reported, and fire officers on scene decided against evacuating the area.

Anyone with any information about the cause of the fire is asked to contact the Ashland Police Department (APD) at 541-482-5211, call the anonymous tip line at 541-552-2333, or email [email protected].

The area may continue to smoke through Thursday night, according to an AFR report, and both APD and AFR will patrol the area.

Email Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling at [email protected] or call or text him at 541-631-1313.

A time-lapse drone video by Alice Puderbaugh shows smoke from the fire billowing over south Ashland.
A plume of smoke from the Glenview Drive fire floats over Ashland as seen from Ashland Street on Thursday afternoon. Ashland.news photo by Bert Etling
A plume of smoke floats over the hillside above Lithia Park Thursday afternoon. ODF photo
Picture of Bert Etling

Bert Etling

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

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