A slow-moving vegetation fire broke out in the Santa Ynez Valley on Saturday afternoon, but crews were able to quickly stop the forward progress of the flames.
At approximately 1 p.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to the blaze near Ballard Canyon and Tapadero roads, spokesman Mike Eliason said.
Firefighters initially reported the fire had burned 5 to 7 acres in grass, with a slow rate of spread, but later estimated the size at 15 to 20 acres, with the potential to grow to 30 acres.
Fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters worked together to fight the fire from above while two bulldozers assisted ground crews.
Other fire personnel worked to protect three structures threatened for a time by the blaze.
At approximately 2:15 p.m., firefighters had stopped the fire’s forward progress at approximately 20 acres, Eliason said.
Air tankers were released from the incident to return to their base in Paso Robles, Eliason said.
No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire was under investigation.
— 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.