Firefighters rescued a fawn while battling a more than 150-acre wind-driven brush fire in Hollister Ranch Thursday.
The fire on the south Santa Barbara County coast erupted shortly after 2 a.m. as “significant” offshore winds swept the area amid a spell of hot and dry weather, said county fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli.
While at the scene of the blaze, firefighters spotted the fawn nearby, tangled in some fencing, department spokesman Mike Eliason told KTLA.
The firefighters freed the fawn from the fencing and took care of it until a local animal rescue group came to pick it up.
The young animal had suffered cuts and bruises, but the injuries were minor and not life-threatening, he said.
Containment of the fire was estimated at 50% as of 6 p.m. and officials said firefighters will remain overnight to make sure embers don’t jump containment lines.
Voluntary evacuations of several houses on the exclusive ranch had been requested.
A water-dropping helicopter aided about 120 firefighters battling the flames about 35 miles west of the city of Santa Barbara.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
The National Weather Service said the extended period of gusty northerly winds was slowly coming to an end after howling overnight. Gusts in the Montecito Hills just east of Santa Barbara reached up to 67 mph.
A heat advisory for the area and other parts of Southern California was expected to remain in effect until 9 p.m. Thursday.
