Gusty winds fanned the flames of a wildfire that burned about 36,000 acres of grass and sagebrush in northern Malheur County north of Vale on Tuesday, June 28.

Smoke from the Willowcreek fire drifted across sections of Interstate 84 southeast of Baker City, prompting a closure of the freeway between Baker City and Ontario for about two and a half hours Tuesday night.

The cause of the fire, which started on private property and spread to public land managed by the Bureau of tLand Management, is under investigation by the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Lighter winds overnight helped fire crews prepare to attack the blaze Wednesday, according to a press release from the BLM’s Vale District.

“The winds calmed about 3 a.m. which gave us a good chance to get around the hot spots on the fire,” Vale BLM Fire Duty Officer Justin Fenton said Wednesday morning.

At 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the fire was 25% contained.

The fire hasn’t threatened any structures and there have not been any evacuations. No injuries have been reported among firefighters.

The fire was reported around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the BLM’s Vale District.

Nine fire engines from the Vale District worked on the fire, along with two engines from the Payette National Forest, two engines each from the Burns and Boise BLM districts, and crews from the Vale Rangeland Fire Protection Association, Burnt River Rangeland Fire Protection Association, Oregon State Fire Marshal and Vale Rural Fire Department. Multiple aircraft, including single- and multi-engine air tankers, also worked on the fire.

The freeway was closed from about 7:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.

The fire was pushed by strong winds from a passing cold front. An automated weather station near the fire recorded gusts as high was 35 mph on Tuesday evening. The temperature reached 100 degrees at 5 p.m.