Santa Barbara County Fire crews put out series of spot fires near Orcutt
ORCUTT, Calif. – A series of spot fires broke out along a highway west of Orcutt Thursday afternoon, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The fire was reported in a grass field between Highway 1 and Highway 135 south of Clark Avenue around 1:25 p.m., and approximately five acres had burned as of 1:55 p.m., said county fire spokesman Mike Eliason.
VegetationFire- #ClarkFire Hwy 1/Hwy 135, south of Clark Ave, Orcutt. SBC & Santa Maria FD o/s of multiple roadside spot fires w largest burning < 4 acres in grass w slow rate of spread. C/T 1:24 p.m.
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) June 9, 2022
The five-acre fire has potential to grow up to eight acres, he added.
Forward progression had been stopped just before 2:10 p.m., according to Eliason, who added that no structures were threatened and the cause of the fire remained under investigation.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies assisted the fire department by diverting traffic around where crews were working, but then handed the remaining road closures off to the California Highway Patrol, said sheriff's spokeswoman Raquel Zick.
Northbound Highway 1 was closed at Clark Avenue due to the fire, and southbound Highway 1 was closed at Solomon Road, according to CalTrans.
There was no estimated time of reopening as of 2:45 p.m., CalTrans District 5 spokesman Jim Shivers said.
