UPDATED: Crews fighting house fire on Crowson Road

Posted: 3:00 PM August 13, 2012

Update: 3:40 p.m. A house fire near Ashland spread to nearly an acre and temporarily closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 5.

Six fire engines and three water tenders responded to thefire at 488 Crowson Road this afternoon.

Additional engines from the Oregon Department of Forestry fought the fire as it spread to nearby grassland and grew to nearly an acre in size.

The fire, which destroyed most of the home, caused a temporary closure of northbound lanes in the nearby Interstate 5 stretch as it the spread to wildland. Oregon Department of Forestry crews battled that blaze, which has been extinguished. I-5 has since reopened.

Four engines from Ashland Fire-Rescue and Jackson County Fire District No. 5 are still fighting the blaze, which is about 75 percent knocked down.

The home is a rental, and its previous occupants were in the process of moving out, according to 43-year-old Laura Leondard, one of the renters. Most of their belongings were already out of the house. Early reports that someone was trapped inside the home were later refuted.

Crowson Road will continue to be closed from Oak Knoll Drive to Benson Way for the next two hours as crews investigate.

3 p.m. Fire crews are fighting a fire burning a home at 488 Crowson Road in Ashland, near Interstate 5.

Four engines are on scene as crews from Ashland Fire-Rescue and Jackson County Fire District No. 5 battle the blaze. Ten-foot flames and thick black smoke are pouring off the structure.

The single-story home is surrounded by conifers and other vegetation. There is also a greenhouse in the back. Crowson Road is closed at its intersections with Oak Knoll Drive and Siskiyou Boulevard.

— Staff reports