SPRAY — A wildfire that started burning last week between Spray and Service Creek has been largely contained.

The Alder Creek Fire was holding at about 1,550 acres and was 50% contained as of Monday, July 10, according to a news release from the Central Oregon Fire Management Service.

The fire started on Thursday, July 6, near milepost 81 on Highway 19 in Wheeler County and at that time was about 20 acres in size, according to the service, a coordinating body of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.

By Friday night the fire had grown to about 225 acres, and by Saturday morning it was burning on about 1,550 acres with no containment.

A Central Oregon interagency Type 3 team was dispatched to combat the blaze with handcrews, bulldozers, engines, air tankers and helicopters.

The Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office contacted residents and property owners in the vicinity of the fire to advise them about the possible need for evacuation.

Highway 19 was temporarily closed between mileposts 79 and 92, an area that runs from 1 mile south of Service Creek to Spray.

By Friday evening, traffic was being allowed through the affected stretch of highway with the use of pilot cars, and by Monday both lanes were reopened.

On Monday afternoon, with the fire 50% contained, the Central Oregon Fire Management Service announced it was scaling back firefighting resources assigned to the blaze and handing over management of the response to local officials.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.