JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – A busy week for ODF Southwest continues.
On Wednesday morning, crews responded to a slow-moving grass fire off Highway 140, near Lake Creek in Jackson County.
Crews were able to put out the fire quickly.
“We did launch aircraft but due to the nature of the fire, firefighters were able to get around it pretty quickly and they stopped it at three acres,” ODF Southwest spokesperson Natalie Weber said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This week alone, ODF Southwest said they’ve responded to at least seven fires since Monday.
On Wednesday, two small grass fires were extinguished in Ruch on Hamilton Road off of Highway 238.
Ruch resident Laura Duey saw the situation escalate.
“Originally it looked like it was just there we heard fire engines coming after a while it started to spread toward forest creek, it didn’t take ling to spread because its windy down there,” she said.
Another Wednesday fire was in Selma off Valley Heights Road.
Between Monday and Tuesday, ODF responded to three more fires, including two in Central Point.
“It’s hot and it’s windy,” Weber said. “Those are just adding to that, so it’s an additional challenge for us. Thankfully we’ve been able to stop all of them. But still it’s a good reminder that we are getting into the heart of fire season and we have the conditions to support fire growth.”
With vegetation only drying out more as summer continues, ODF said it’s more important than ever to practice wildfire prevention.
“A lot of the things we do like mowing grass and driving near roads with vegetation those are all fire risks,” Weber said. “If you’re vehicle is not maintained, if you’re dragging chains, mowing dry vegetation in the heat, there is a very high likelihood that a fire is going to start from that.”
ODF tells us all fires from this week are currently under investigation.
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