VANDENBERG A vegetation fire consumed at least 150 acres Thursday near Point Sal and El Ranch roads on the northern portion of Vandenberg Air Force Base, authorities said.
The fire, called the Rancho Fire, was reported around 2:45 p.m. in what was described as an unpopulated area of the base. According to Battalion Chief Dionicio Dehoyos, forward progress of the fire was stopped as of 6:45 p.m. and no base structures were affected.
The military base assigned 55 personnel to the fire who were joined by about 40 members of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and six members of the 30th Space Wing Security Forces Squadron, authorities said.
At one point Thursday, the base deployed 16 vehicles and the county fire department sent two helicopters, two fixed-wing aircraft and 22 vehicles to respond to the fire.
Firefighters were expected to continue to work toward containment overnight Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, county fire crews were sent to 1909 West State Route 246 near Buellton and doused a 200 foot roadside fire. No structures were threatened and the cause of that fire is under investigation.
