The first significant fire of what could be a very dangerous fire season broke out last week on Thursday afternoon in some brush-covered property at the top of North Fairview Avenue.

The owner of the property, Bob Lovgren, had hired a crew of workers to clear brush on his overgrown acreage - to reduce the threat of fire. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department said that a spark from one of this crew’s gas-powered tools set off the blaze.

Having no cell phones, with no access to water, the crew was at a loss as to what they should do. Jack Juntenen, Director of Development for the Wildlife Care Network, is a near neighbor of Lovgren at his workplace and called the fire in.

The County Fire Department and other local fire fighting agencies responded promptly, with overwhelming force. The fire, which threatened several nearby residences and domestic animal structures as it made its way up the hillside, was pretty much contained by 6 p.m. It was not completely extinguished, however, and there were several flare-ups over the next three days. County crews were patrolling the acreage until Sunday afternoon.

In all, the fire involved almost seventy fire fighters and 13 fire engines-eight from Santa Barbara County, three from the U. S. Forest Service, and one each from the City of Santa Barbara and Montecito Fire Departments-plus several more auxiliary vehicles, a County helicopter dropping fire-retardant, and a U. S. Forest Service spotter aircraft. The various agencies all worked under the command of County Fire Chief Mike McIntosh.

“They did a fabulous job,” said Robin Cederlof, who lives across the street from the burned acres. Cederlof and her neighbors spent a tense afternoon making plans for evacuation. “If the wind had come back on us, we wouldn’t have had much time,” she said.

“That area hadn’t been cleared for some time,” said Capt. Diondray Wiley, of the County Fire Department. “It could have gotten really intense. Fortunately there were no structures involved. I would say this was a good primer for the larger fires that we are certain to see this summer.”

The fire was also a wake-up for everyone who owns property in the foothills and other high-risk areas: it’s time to start clearing brush and taking other fire abatement measures. It is going to be a long hot summer.

To report a fire, call 911.