A two-alarm vegetation fire burned some 37 acres in the Ballard Canyon area of the Santa Ynez Valley area on Tuesday afternoon.
Personnel from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department were dispatched shortly before 3 p.m. to the fire on the 2700 block of Ballard Canyon Road near Los Olivos.
The blaze damaged at least one structure, described as an outbuilding, fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli said, adding that a better assessment would be conducted later.
Firefighters initially estimated the blaze had blackened about 15 acres, and had the potential to grow to 50 acres.
However, at approximately 4:15 p.m., they had stopped the fire’s forward progress, and released some firefighting resources, Bertucelli said.
At about 9 p.m., the area charred was updated to 37 acres, with 50% containment, according to Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason.
Firefighters were to remain on scene overnight, Eliason said, with full containment expected at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Homes on Tapadero Road and Latigo Drive reportedly were threatened at one point, and Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies were sent to advise residents of the threat.
As firefighters surrounded the flames, authorities determined additional evacuations were not necessary.
Winds during the incident were 10 to 15 mph, and the fire was moving in a easterly direction, according to firefighters at the scene.
Aircraft and bulldozer crews also were dispatched to assist in fighting the fire.
Crews responding to the scene were advised to be aware of cows near the side the road as a precaution.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— 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.
