Severe lightning storms sparked 72 wildfires of varying sizes across Jackson and Josephine counties in Southern Oregon on Tuesday.

One of those, the Neil Creek Fire just south of Ashland, has sparked Level 2 (Be Set) evacuation orders in the area and closed one lane of southbound Interstate 5 from milepost 10.5-8.5. The fire was estimated to have grown to 124 acres by Wednesday afternoon.

Additional personnel and resources were brought in Wednesday from Cal Fire through a mutual aid agreement between Oregon and California.

“We stand with Oregon during this critical time, just as they’ve stood with us during some of California’s toughest fire seasons,” Cal Fire Chief Deputy Director Anale Burlew said in a social media post Wednesday.

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In neighboring Klamath County, the Elk Fire has burned over 2,000 acres since it was first reported Tuesday morning. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek invoked an Emergency Conflagration Act on Wednesday afternoon for the fire, opening up additional resources for the region.

“This latest round of lightning and continued dry conditions in Southern Oregon has kept the Oregon fire service and our wildland partners extremely busy,” State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a press release. “The extended forecast is not going to provide any relief. Please pay attention to our critical wildfire conditions and take the necessary steps to prevent sparking a human-caused fire.”

The Oregon Department of Forestry has deployed an “incident management team” north of the small town of Bonanza to help relieve local authorities.

ODF’s Fire Protection Division Chief Michael Curran said the team will help with crew management and provide more resources for the area.

The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has deployed Incident Management Team 1 (IMT 1) to the Klamath-Lake District to manage the Elk Fire in the Bly Mountain area. This is the second ODF IMT deployment in the last 24 hours.

Read more: https://t.co/KlW6YVrpfq pic.twitter.com/cRth9qY1XV

— Oregon Forestry (@ORDeptForestry) July 9, 2025

“They’re going to provide overall management of the fires and work with the local district on which ones they’ll take over. It’s a one-size-fits-all model, where they provide overall leadership for the resources that are helping out,” Curran said. “It will also relieve the local district so that staff can get caught up on some rest and then be available for whatever new fires get started.”

Curran said there has also been an uptick in human-caused fires this summer statewide. He encouraged residents to take extra precautions amid the high temperatures and dry conditions.

“It’s one thing when it comes to lighting, we can’t control that and what fires start, but we can control what human-caused starts there are,” Curran said. “So really just imploring the public to understand the severity of the fire season situation we are going to have this summer and we are currently experiencing.”

Curran encourages residents to check in with their local fire officials, ODF and Bureau of Land management offices for the latest fire restrictions in their region.

Resources: Stay safe and informed during wildfire season with OPB’s wildfire guide at opb.org/wildfires. This resource offers essential safety tips and preparedness guidance to help you navigate fire and smoke events. This resource was created as part of our commitment to serving the public as wildfire seasons become longer and more dangerous.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/09/oregon-wildfire-fire-lightning-jackson-josephine-neil-creek/