Two people and a pair of dogs were injured Friday evening when a vehicle went off Sweeney Road and started a small fire near Lompoc.

At approximately 6 p.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the Lompoc Fire Department, American Medical Response and the California Highway Patrol responded to the 4300 block of Sweeney Road.

Crews initially responded to the area for an accident and vegetation fire, finding the crashed vehicle about 300 feet down at the end of Sweeney Road.

Firefighters had trouble accessing the vehicle and discussed deploying a rope system to conduct the rescue, according to emergency dispatch reports.

The first firefighters reported that the small blaze was moving slowly in light to medium vegetation.

The fire blackened one-third of an acre by the time firefighters stopped the forward progress, according to Karen Cruz-Orduña, a Fire Department spokeswoman.

A Calstar medical helicopter also was dispatched to the incident to transport one injured patient.

The helicopter landed near the crash scene to pick up a 77-year-old woman with neck and back pain, according to emergency dispatch reports. 

She reportedly sustained major injuries in the crash and was taken to Marian Regional Medical Center, Cruz-Orduña said.

An AMR ground ambulance was expected to transport the second patient, a man with moderate injuries, to Marian.

Santa Barbara County Animal Services personnel also were dispatched to the incident to assist with two dogs, one of which was aggressive as firefighters tried to secure the animals, according to emergency dispatch reports.

The dogs also were in the vehicle and were injured in the crash, Cruz-Orduña said.

County firefighters expected to remain at the scene for a couple of hours to conduct mop-up chores.