Most of the 130 confirmed wildfires burning in Southern Oregon are fairly small

Zach Urness | Statesman Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Training to reload firefighting aircraft Members of the Oregon Department of Forestry and cadets from Oregon Air Patrol attend a training on how to reload retardant into firefighting aircraft on Thursday, July 12, 2018, at Salem Municipal Airport.

UPDATE at 11:18 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17

There are now at least 160 wildfires burning in Southern Oregon.

Some of the fires have grown.

LATEST UPDATE: 160 wildfires are burning in Southern Oregon, bringing evacuations and concern over growth

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ORIGINAL STORY

A lightning storm on Sunday ignited around 130 wildfires across Southern Oregon, according to officials.

Most of the fires remain fairly small, but a handful have grown over 100 acres and have threatened homes.

Fire teams have been kept busy and say they’re attacking every sign of smoke with the intent of putting out the fire, officials from multiple agencies have said.

“We’re just trying to keep up with the amount that are getting called in,” Melissa Cano with the Oregon Department of Forestry said.

The areas most impacted have been Eagle Point, Jacksonville and in the Applegate Valley.

Here’s where the fires are burning:

- 55 fires burning on county, state and private land in Jackson and Josephine County, which is protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry.

- 57 fires burning in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, a large area from Prospect to Gold Beach.

- 19 wildfires burning in the Umpqua National Forest east of Roseburg.

- 8 wildfires at Crater Lake National Park

That's 139 total wildfire in southwest Oregon.

Here’s a roundup of the most noteworthy fires so far.

MORE: Ember research could help fight wildfires

Hendrix Fire

Located in a remote area southwest of Ashland — and three miles from Wagner Gap — the Hendrix Fire was estimated at 170 acres Monday evening.

“Terrain is steep, and fuels are densely canopied forest surrounded by logging slash on privately-owned timberlands,” officials said.

No evacuations have been ordered and multiple crews and aircraft are attacking the fire.

Wagner Creek Complex

This is a complex of four different wildfires all burning in Jackson County — from Eagle Point to Jacksonville.

Green Top Mountain Fire is around 125 acres and burning about five miles northeast of Eagle Point. The fire is 40 to 50 percent contained and no structures are threatened, nor evacuations issued.

“It’s in really good shape right now,” Cano said. “We’re not too worried it’s going to escape us.”

Sterling Creek Fire is estimated at 100 acres burning seven miles south of Jacksonville in the Applegate Valley area. A level 3 evacuation for about 30 homes, issued yesterday, was dropped to level 1 — get ready” — this afternoon.

“There’s a line in place protecting the homes. We just need to tie up the other side, hopefully within 48 hours,” Cano said.

Eight to 10 small fires are burning about 10 miles north and northwest of Shady Cove. The largest is 10 acres, but no structures are threatened.

“It’s very rugged terrain, but we’re feeling pretty good about it right now,” Cano said.

The Wagner Creek Fire is visible off Interstate 5, but limited information is available.

Garner Complex

This is a collection of fires burning near Grants Pass, Cave Junction and Rogue River. No structures are currently threatened by any of the fires. All three are being attacked by multiple teams.

Swamp Creek Fires include multiple small fires burning 16 miles north of Rogue River. No structures threatened.

“We’re inching toward getting control around all of those fires,” Cano said.

Little Grayback Fire is around 2 acres and burning eight miles east of Cave Junction.

“It’s producing a lot of smoke, but overall is in good shape,” Cano said.

Spencer Creek #3 Fires include multiple small fires, the largest being around 10 acres, located about 12 miles south of Grants Pass.

Additional small fires

Ashland and Applegate area

Several reported fire starts are currently staffed by firefighters with no containment issues expected, including one fire in the Ashland Watershed. Good progress is being made with bucket work in combination with rappellers on the ground.

Gold Beach and Brookings area

The Bear Fire, east of Gold Beach, is approximately 3 acres in size is being attacked by three engines.

Prospect and Butte Falls area

The Gravel Fire is approximately 5 acres in size, actively burning and has crossed containment lines.

Grants Pass and Cave Junction

There are four small fires northwest of Selma. A hotshot team has responded to the fire.

The Sanger Peak Fire is around 10 acres and has rappellers, one engine and a 20-person hand crew assigned.

The Spring Fires also is burning in the area.

Crater Lake

The lightning strikes also caused wildfires at the United States' deepest lake and Oregon's only national park.

Eight wildfires popped up, officials said in a news release.

However, all are currently one half acre or less in size.

"Smokejumpers arrived soon after the fires were detected and have put lines around the two largest fires," a news release from Crater Lake National Park said. "The remaining fires are single trees and firefighters are working to extinguish those as well. All the fires are being suppressed."

This story will be updated.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 10 years. He is the author of the book “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.