SANTA BARBARA Railroad lines and portions of southbound Highway 101 were closed for about two hours Saturday following separate vegetation fires near the Los Patos Way and Hot Springs Road offramps, authorities said.
Santa Barbara City Fire Department and Montecito Fire Protection District crews responded to the area just after 2 p.m. and found both fires burning in thick vegetation underneath Eucalyptus grove canopies, James Heidlebaugh, city Fire Department spokesman, said in a news release.
Crews quickly stopped the forward spread and extinguished the fires.
Both exit ramps, one lane of the highway and the rail lines were reopened around 3:45 p.m.
The cause of the fires is under investigation.
