UPDATE 5/07/2025:
U.S. Forest Service Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest fire crews have received smoke clearance for a controlled burn operation on the west side of the Ashland watershed. The controlled burn operations will begin Thursday, May 8th and continue through Saturday, May 11th.
CLOSED TRAILS ON CITY FOREST LANDS from Thursday, May 8th through Saturday, May 10th: Lithia Loop Road (2060 road), Hitt Road (USFS 2060-300), Wonder, Fell on Knee, and Wasabi Trails will be closed on city forest lands, and we are highly discouraging use during the burning for public and firefighter safety. Trails remain open east of Ashland Creek including the White-Rabbit area and Siskiyou Mountain Park.
SMOKE IMPACTS LIKELY: On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings due to the proximity of the burn to town, areas likely to experience smoke are neighborhoods surrounding Lithia Park, Strawberry Lane, downtown Ashland, areas around Ashland Creek down to Bear Creek including but not limited to Helman Street, portions of the Railroad District, Oak Street, Hersey, Quiet Village neighborhood and Eagle Mill Road. More areas may be impacted depending on wind patterns. See smokewiseashland.org for tips on how to remain healthy during periods of smoke.
NOTIFICATIONS: You are receiving this Everbridge message through the alert system that reaches all Ashland residents through the Jackson Alerts system. To sign-up for ongoing update on controlled burning, smoke alerts, for events and work activities in the Ashland watershed; text WATERSHED in the message line to recipient 888-777 for this non-emergency communication.
Predicted Smoke Impacts High: Smoke will likely impact the Fairy Ponds, Granite Reservoir and could impact neighborhoods around Lithia Park and downtown Ashland. Recreation trails in the burn area will be affected by dense smoke and we are asking the public to avoid using the watershed trails on the west side above the yellow gate off the end of Granite Street. Physical activity is not recommended when smoke is dense. Please do not enter the burn area and avoid the trails impacted by smoke. On city forest land; Wonder, Wasabi, Fell on Knee, Hitt Road (USFS 2060-300) trails will be CLOSED during burn operations from 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 8th through Saturday, May 10th.
Location of Controlled Burn | USFS Public Land and City Forest Lands near USFS 2060-300, with Wonder, Fell on Knee and Wasabi Trails passing through the burn unit. |
Date(s) of Controlled Burns | Thursday, May 8th through Saturday, May 10th |
Potential Smoke Impacts | Areas likely to experience smoke are neighborhoods surrounding Lithia Park, Strawberry Lane, areas surrounding downtown and downtown Ashland, areas surrounding Ashland Creek down to Bear Creek including but not limited to Helman St, portions of the Railroad District, Oak Street, and Eagle Mill Road. More areas may be impacted depending on wind patterns. Smoke could be visible from different parts of town and from the I-5 freeway. |
Trail Closures on City Forest | Wonder, Wasabi, Fell on Knee, Hitt Road trails on city lands will be CLOSED during burn operations from Thursday, May 8th through Saturday, May 10th at 8 a.m. |
What to do if smoke is in the air | The City’s Smokewise Ashland site has all the resources you need to stay healthy. |
More information | www.smokewiseashland.org |
POSTED ON 5/08/2025: Pending final approval from the State of Oregon smoke forecast center on Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Forest Service Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, with support from the City of Ashland, will conduct a strategic controlled burn for community wildfire safety beginning at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, May 8th and continuing through Saturday, May 10th.
More details will be released by 5PM on Wednesday if final approval is granted. If the burn moves ahead, the west side of the Ashland watershed including the Lithia Loop Road (2060 road), Hitt Road (USFS 2060-300), Wonder, Fell on Knee, and Wasabi Trails will be closed or highly discouraged from use during the burning for public and firefighter safety.
If approved, smoke impacts in town are likely both Thursday and Friday evening due to the proximity of the burn. Areas likely to experience smoke are neighborhoods surrounding Lithia Park, Strawberry Lane, areas surrounding downtown and downtown Ashland, areas surrounding Ashland Creek down to Bear Creek including but not limited to Helman St, portions of the Railroad District, Oak Street, and Eagle Mill Road. More areas may be impacted depending on wind patterns. See smokewiseashland.org for tips on avoiding smoke impacts.
The map below outlines the planned burn (yellow), previous burn units (gray), and Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest areas (green) show controlled burning units for the season.
Should the burn move forward, the City will send a non-emergency controlled burn message to all residents signed up in the Jackson Alerts system. People can register for alerts on the City’s Emergency Preparedness Webpage. Please check back on Thursday at 5PM for more details.
“This burn has outsized importance for community safety and watershed protection. We’ve been working with our partners toward this goal for over a decade and we ask for your tolerance with smoke and closures as part of our ongoing wildfire readiness and adapting to hotter and drier summers.” said Chris Chambers, Forestry and Public Information Officer for the City of Ashland.
Watch an AFR Project video about proactive fire planning to learn more.
Firefighters managing a controlled burn in the Ashland Watershed in 2023