Fire breaks out on Santa Cruz Island

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - A grass fire broke out along the east coast of Santa Cruz Island on Sunday.

Los Padres National Forest said they got the call around 10:38 a.m. Sunday morning. At the time of the call, the fire was about 5 acres in size. As of 2:15 p.m., however, the fire had spread to about 40 acres.

Los Padres said the fire is burning in some light grass toward the east coast of the island near Scorpion Ranch.

The island is completely closed to visitors at this time.

Los Padres said they have a 20 person hand crew on their way to the island in a boat to begin fighting the fire. Before the crew's arrival, there were no fire personnel on the scene.

TowBoatU.S. Captain Paul Amaral told NewsChannel 3 that a construction crew working on the pier at Scorpion Ranch accidentally started the fire.

Island Packers Cruises helped to transport crews and equipment to the island to start battling the blaze.

The Island Packers announced Sunday evening that, with the help of National Park Service, trips will resume on June 1 by docking at a different location on the island.

Los Padres National Forest is working alongside the fire management officer with the US National Park Service.

The fire and smoke can be seen from the mainland coast.

Santa Cruz Island is the largest of the Channel Islands.

This is a developing story. We will update as more information becomes available.