Multiple small vegetation fires burned less than 5 acres in total along the Gaviota Coast late Wednesday afternoon, leading to the temporary closure of a lane on Highway 101.

Personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, along with counterparts from the Santa Barbara City, Los Padres National Forest and Montecito fire departments, were dispatched to the incident involving four small fires adjacent to northbound Highway 101 at 4:50 p.m., county fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said. 

Santa Barbara County Copter 964 also assisted crews on the ground with extinguishing hot spots, Safechuck said.

One lane of Highway 101 in the area had to be closed because of the firefighting activity. 

The incident commander canceled fixed-wing aircraft dispatched to the incident as firefighters succeeded in extinguishing the fires.

California Highway Patrol officers, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office deputies and California State Parks personnel also assisted at the sites.

The cause of the small fires remained under investigation on Wednesday. 

Another small fire occurred in the center divider southbound Highway 101 just south of Los Alamos, with passersby equipped with shovels working to extinguish the blaze, according to CHP emergency dispatch reports.