Santa Barbara County’s Firehawk Copter 964 makes a water drop Sunday afternoon on a vegetation fire burning in the foothills above Goleta. 
A firefighters sprays water on a vegetation fire burning in the foothills above Goleta. 
Firefighters responded Sunday afternoon to a vegetation fire burning in the area of La Patera Ranch in Goleta. 
Firefighters responded Sunday afternoon to a vegetation fire burning in the area of La Patera Ranch in Goleta. 
Firefighters responded Sunday afternoon to a vegetation fire burning in the area of La Patera Ranch in Goleta.
Firefighters responded Sunday afternoon to a vegetation fire burning in the area of La Patera Ranch in the foothills above Goleta.
Crews were dispatched at 2:25 p.m. to the fire, which was visible throughout much of the Goleta Valley.
Gusty northwest winds were blowing at the time in the area, which was under a High Wind Warning.
The flames were being pushed downhill towards avocado orchards, according to Mike Eliason, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The initial size-up was 10 acres charred, with the potential for 100 acres, but later mapping determined that the burn area was less than 4 acres, Eliason said.
The county's new Firehawk Helicopter 964, with its large water capacity, was dispatched to the incident, Eliason said, and “proved to be a game changer on its first vegetation fire, quickly knocking down the eastern flank of the fire.”
Two air tankers also were called in to help battle the blaze, but were released without making retardant drops, Eliason said.
By shortly after 4 p.m., the forward progress of the flames had been stopped, Eliason said, and the fire was declared fully contained at about 9 p.m.
No structures were threatened and no injuries were reported.
Crews were expected to remain on scene for several hours dousing hot spots and doing mop-up.
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.
