[Scroll down to see video of the fire]
Firefighters responded Tuesday afternoon to a vehicle fire along Highway 154 near Santa Barbara that shut down the highway in both directions for a time.
Crews were dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. to an area about three miles north of Highway 101, according to Capt. Dave Zaniboni of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
A sheriff’s deputy who arrived first on scene reported that a small pickup truck was engulfed in flames, and the highway was blocked in both directions.
Responding crews from the county and the U.S. Forest Service knocked down a small brush fire that was sparked on the hillside above the pickup, then worked to extinguishing the vehicle fire, Zaniboni said.
Highway 154 was closed in both directions in the area of the fire, near Painted Cave Road, for about 30 minutes, Zaniboni said.
Cause of the blaze remained under investigation.
— 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.
Highway 154 Vehicle Fire Near Santa Barbara from Noozhawk on Vimeo.