A vegetation fire blackened about 13 acres east of Santa Maria on Saturday afternoon before crews were able to halt the flames, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The blaze was reported shortly before 2 p.m. near the intersection of Foxen Canyon and Orcutt Garey roads.
County Fire sent a full vegetation response to the fire, and the first units on the scene reported 2 to 3 acres charred, with flames spreading at a moderate rate, according to fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli.
Two air tankers from Paso Robles were called in to make retardant drops, while firefighters battled the blaze from the ground.
A system of ranch roads in the area helped crews in containing the blaze, Bertucelli said.
No structures were threatened, and no injuries were reported.
Shortly before 5 p.m., crews had stopped the forward progress of the fire, which was 50% contained, Bertucelli said.
Full containment was expected by Sunday morning, he added, with two engines and a hand crew remaining on the scene overnight doing mop-up and patrolling the perimeter.
— 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.
