A structure fire in Buellton on Monday afternoon was putting up large flames and heavy smoke that were visible at the top of a large hill.  

At approximately 4:45 p.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the county Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol responded to the incident, reportedly involving a house on the 1300 block of McMurray Road.

The first firefighters to arrive on scene were told occupants may be inside the structure, but later determined everyone had escaped the building.

“Santa Barbara County Fire Department initiated an aggressive attack and knocked down the fire in approximately 15 to 20 minutes and are currently overhauling the fire at this time,” fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli said. 

Flames and a huge column of black smoke could been seen from Highway 101, CHP dispatch reports said. 

Approximately 15 vehicles stopped on the right shoulder of northbound Highway 101 to watch the fire, causing traffic to back up in the area, according to CHP dispatch reports. 

No firefighters or civilians were injured in the fire, Bertucelli said. 

The cause of the fire remained under investigation, he added.

Check back to Noozhawk for updates to this story as they become available..

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.