For the second time this summer, firefighters made an aggressive push to stop a blaze sparked off Highway 140 near Lake Creek.

By late Tuesday evening the Jack Spring fire had grown to 33 acres. The cause remains under investigation, Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Brian Ballou said.

Motorists reported the blaze at 2:08 p.m. after spotting flames and smoke along the road, Ballou said. Low humidity and a steady east wind helped push flames up an embankment along the highway, he said.

Flames crept eastward up a low ridge, away from the site of July’s 1,520-acre Wasson fire.

"There’s a bunch of fuel up there," Ballou said. "There is old logging slash — tree tops and stubs. It takes a long time for it to burn that stuff off."

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Unlike the situation crews faced in the Wasson fire, there are no steep canyons to contend with. The ridge along the highway near milepost 25 levels off at the top, which will slow the fire’s progress, Ballou said.

Two 20-person ODF crews hiked up the ridge to attack the fire’s eastern flank, Ballou said.

"We’ve managed to get water around the whole fire," Ballou said. "They’re going to continue hitting it with a lot of water."

Traffic was reduced to a single lane through the area for most of the afternoon. State transportation crews will wait until this morning before deciding if they will open both lanes, Ballou said.

A number of small fires continued to burn next to the highway Tuesday evening. Easterly winds kept the thick, gray smoke off the highway.

The highway was shut down briefly as an air tanker hit the site, bombing the top of the ridge with fire retardant. Because of the ridge’s low elevation and close proximity to the road, the air drop offered quite a show, as 6,000 gallons of bright red retardant showered the flames — and nearby cars parked along the road.

Gary Brookings, a Sprint employee from White City, was waiting along the road to fix a telephone repeater damaged in the fire.

"I’ve had (an airtanker) drop a load on me once," he said. "When that stuff hits you, it really hits you."

The air attack was augmented by three helicopters that dropped buckets of water onto the flames.

A few spot fires sparked by wind-blown embers gave crews trouble throughout the day. Ballou expected those to ease as darkness lowered temperatures and calmed the winds.

No structures were immediately threatened by flames, though a ranch 2.5 miles east of the fire was put on alert in case the fire made a run overnight.

Ballou was pleased with the progress crews made in such a short time.

"As the summer goes on, we increase the resources we send to a known trouble area like the Highway 140 corridor," he said.

The ODF dispatched 13 engines and 2 bulldozers to the scene. It was assisted by Jackson County Fire District 8 crews.

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