72 Fires Caused by Lightning in Southwest Oregon, ODF Sends Team to Help

Numerous lightning-caused fires burning on ODF Southwest land

The Oregon Department of Forestry - Southwest Oregon District said on Wednesday they have identified 72 acres on ODF-protected land in Jackson and Josephine counties.

72 fires caused by lightning in Southwest Oregon, ODF sends team to help

The Oregon Department of Forestry announced Tuesday that they deployed Incident Management Team 3 (IMT 3) to the ODF Southwest District to help after lightning on Monday night.

Southwest Oregon: Firefighters continue to make progress across all fires despite hot, windy conditions

JACKSON & JOSEPHINE COUNTIES, Ore. (July 9, 2025) – Firefighters are continuing aggressive suppression action across all fires in Jackson and Josephine counties, the majority of which were caused by lightning strikes following thunderstorms Monday night. The fire count remains at 72 total between the two counties, with numerous fires already caught and extinguished at small sizes. The remaining fires are staffed with resources, and progress cont…

Governor Kotek Visits 2025 Mid-Willamette Valley Interagency Wildland Fire School

SALEM, Ore. – Governor Tina Kotek joined the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) on the last day of the annual five-day Mid-Willamette Valley Interagency Wildland Fire School. The training culminated with a live burn exercise, which presented trainees with a final challenge: applying their newly acquired skills and techniques to suppress and mop-up a real fire under controlled conditions. “Behind the value…

Philomath firefighters head to Rogue Valley

A Philomath Fire and Rescue crew was among those headed to the Rogue Valley Tuesday as part of an operation to support firefighting efforts in southern Oregon. Structural and wildland firefighters have been busy responding to lightning-sparked wildfires in the aftermath of thunderstorms that rolled through the area. The Oregon State Fire Marshal mobilized resources to the region, including the deployment of structural task forces from Benton and…

AGGRESSIVE INITIAL ATTACK CONTINUES ON LIGHTNING-CAUSED FIRES IN SOUTHWEST OREGON

July 9, 2025 4:00 a.m.  Firefighters are continuing an aggressive initial attack on numerous fires caused by thunderstorms Monday night in the Oregon Department of Forestry Southwest Oregon District. Public Information Officer Natalie Weber said significant progress has been made on the largest fires initially identified. Weber said crews are also responding to multiple new reports of fires which came in on Tuesday across Jackson and Josephine c…