Firefighters on Wednesday night fully contained a vegetation fire that charred some 17 acres off Sweeney Road east of Lompoc, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

Crews were dispatched at about 1 p.m. to the 4700 block of Sweeney Road, said Mike Eliason, a Fire Department spokesman.

The first units on scene reported seeing a column of smoke, and the initial size-up of the fire was 5-10 acres charred, with a moderate rate of spread, according to emergency radio traffic.

County firefighters were assisted on the blaze by crews from the city of Lompoc and Los Padres National Forest, with two helicopters and two air tankers also assigned to the incident.

One vehicle was destroyed, and a shed and agricultural equipment were damaged by the fire, Eliason said, adding that other structures in the area were threatened by the flames.

At about 2:30 p.m., all aircraft assigned to the the fire were grounded after a hobby drone was found to be flying in the area, Eliason said.

It is illegal to fly drones near fire-fighting operations, and county sheriff's deputies were searching for the operator, he added.

A helicopter makes a water drop Wednesday afternoon on a vegetation fire off Sweeney Road in the Lompoc area. (Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department photo)

At about 8 p.m., the fire was declared 100-percent contained, Eliason said.

Ccause 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.

Firefighters responded Wednesday afternoon to a report of a vegetation fire off Sweeney Road in the Lompoc area. (Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department photo)