Firefighters are battling a wind-driven brush fire in an exclusive community in Santa Barbara County, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The fire at the Hollister Ranch — a gated subdivision along the Gaviota Coast, famed for its untouched beaches — started around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.
As of 6:30 p.m., it had grown to an estimated 100 acres, but no structures were threatened at the moment, said Sam Ferguson of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Some residents were reportedly told to evacuate as a precaution. No containment was reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. An ambulance unit was called, and an investigator was responding to the scene, Ferguson said.
The fire, which authorities estimate has the potential to grow to 500 to 1,000 acres, was burning through dense front-country chaparral, driven by erratic winds, Ferguson said.
