Fire crews Tuesday fought to contain the Rogue Valley’s largest wildfire of the year as it burned more than 100 acres of grass and forestland along Highway 140 about 20 miles east of White City.

The blaze began around 2:30 p.m. when a tractor-trailer rig overturned on Highway 140 near milepost 19, sparking the fire. No one was injured in the crash, Oregon State Police Capt. Kurt Barthel said.

Strong winds pushed the fire east toward some forest homes — one of which serves as a tiger sanctuary — just outside of Lake Creek, Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Brian Ballou said.

"It was burning pretty aggressively between 3 and 4:30 p.m. It was being pushed by a stiff up-canyon wind," Ballou said.

Residents told fire crews they saw hot ash and embers falling onto their yards. Lake Creek Fire District crews spent most of the afternoon watching the homes in case hot debris started a fire near one of the houses.

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The threat to the houses lessened when the wind dissipated later in the evening. The fire then spread north, burning up a steep slope covered with ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and brush, Ballou said.

The only structure destroyed was a small tool shed near the highway.

Heavy smoke blanketed the highway, forcing the Oregon Department of Transportation to block both lanes until visibility improved. Ballou said traffic was backed up for about a half-mile in both lanes when he arrived on the scene. ODOT opened one lane to traffic at about 5 p.m.

An air tanker dropped flame retardant and three helicopters poured buckets of water onto the flames. A fourth helicopter carrying the Oregon Department of Forestry incident commander skirted the perimeter of the fire.

The highway served as a temporary landing zone for the helicopter, where the incident commander could brief ground crews on the fire’s progress.

Ballou said crews became worried when they saw flaming debris start small fires on the south side of the highway.

"For a while it was sending up a lot of whirlwinds of fire that caused a few spot fires across the road ... but (fire crews) took care of them before they could do any damage," Ballou said.

Thick tendrils of smoke were visible from the valley’s eastern horizon for most of the afternoon.

ODF crews along with units from the U.S. Forest Service and a 20-person Hotshot crew from Prospect continued working through the night to contain the fire.

"We’re going to be watching this closely for the next couple of days. It’s a long way from being over," Ballou said.

Reach reporting intern Chris Conrad at 776-4471, or e-mail cconrad@mailtribune.com.