A bird hitting a power line is being blamed for starting a brush fire which caused a scare in Santa Barbara County.
The blaze north of Highway 101 on the Gaviota coastline near Refugio Canyon started at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. It charred just under 20 acres of brush before firefighters could get the upper hand on it about two hours later.
There was initially concern about some homes and ranches in the Venadito Canon area being threatened, but no structures were damaged by what was called the Bar Fire.
It was fully contained by midday Thursday. Firefighters were able to get a quick jump on the blaze by diverting aircraft fighting the Rey Fire in the Los Padres National Forest to the new fire just after it was discovered.
