Santa Barbara County firefighters responded Friday afternoon to a vegetation fire burning near Highway 101 in Goleta.
The blaze was reported at about 3 p.m. in a eucalyptus grove on the south side of the freeway, between Hollister Avenue and Storke Road.
The first crews on scene reported the fire had burned 1/4 acre, with a rapid rate of spread in the trees.
It was not immediately known if any structures were threatened.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m., firefighters reported that the forward progress of the fire had been stopped.
The right-hand southbound Highway 101 lane was shut down to protect firefighters battling the fire.
Railroad traffic also was halted in the area for a time.
The CHP reported that a man was seen running away from the area, which is near a homeless encampment.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
