Firefighters quickly stopped a pair of small brush fires south of Orcutt as the blazes sent smoke onto Highway 101 Thursday afternoon.

At approximately 4:40 p.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the Los Padres National Forest fire department responded to the incident along Highway 101 north of Clark Avenue.

Callers reported two vegetation fires along the shoulder of southbound Highway 101 between Union Valley Parkway and Clark Avenue. 

Heavy smoke from the fires blanketed the highway in the area, according to emergency dispatch reports.

Traffic was moving along fast lane and center divider due to the fires, which were quickly stopped and estimated at one-half acres. 

The fire bumped into a retaining wall between the highway and residential neighborhood and had the potential to grow to 2 acres, firefighters said. 

The cause of the fires remained under investigation.