A 2,000-acre fire east of Selma burned at least six homes Thursday and forced the evacuation of 30 to 40 families, officials said.

Like a number of fires this season, the Deer Creek fire began in dry grass near a road. It ignited between Lake Shore Drive and Deer Creek Road, Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Brian Ballou said.

"It started as a three-acre grass fire, and grew by leaps and bounds by the hour," Ballou said.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, which burned primarily on private land, but Ballou suspects it began near Deer Creek Road. Flames consumed dry grass on both sides of the road — burning at least two cars parked alongside the road — before making a run toward the east and fanning out into a heavily forested area near Crooks Creek.

"It hasn’t been moved along by strong winds, but it just keeps finding fuel," Ballou said.

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By late Thursday, the fire had moved up steep ridges northeast of Lake Selmac, burning at least one home near Crooks Creek, Ballou said.

"We still have open fires on both sides of Deer Creek Road," Ballou said. "The homes on the north side of Deer Creek Ridge are still in jeopardy."

Ballou estimates that between 30 and 40 homes remain in the fire’s path.

"There is a diversity of homes in the area: year-round homes, cabins, ranches and trailers," Ballou said.

At around 5:30 p.m. Josephine County sheriff’s department and emergency management officials called for a voluntary evacuation of homes along Davis and Crook Creek after the blaze destroyed homes in the area.

Ballou said this is by far the most homes that have been threatened by a wildfire in southern Oregon this year.

The Red Cross has established an evacuation center at Illinois Valley High School in Cave Junction. Families that choose to leave their homes are provided with cots and food and water, Ballou said.

Four air tankers, along with at least four helicopters, pounded the fire from the air. ODF bulldozers streamed into the area to help reinforce lines along the fire’s flanks.

The ground attack is being conducted by around 200 firefighters from ODF, the U.S. Forest Service and the Illinois Valley Fire District, Ballou said.

A heavy column of smoke from the Deer Creek blaze climbed into the sky Thursday above the Rogue Valley’s western horizon.

A separate fire sparked Thursday at 4:33 p.m. in Sunny Valley north of Grants Pass, burning a quarter of an acre of grass and brush. One helicopter and three engines were dispatched to the scene. Crews extinguished the fire at 8:47 p.m. No structures were threatened by the fire and it remains under investigation, officials said.

Ballou hoped crews could make progress against the Deer Creek fire during the night, when temperatures drop and fires usually lose a lot of their intensity.

"We’re going to keep ground crews active throughout the evening," Ballou said. "We should make quite a bit of progress."

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