Ventura County Firefighters Sent to Help in Battling Blaze : Brush fire: Flames have consumed 10,000 acres in the rugged area north of Santa Barbara.

The Ventura County Fire Department has sent 11 engine companies--one-fifth of its force--to Santa Barbara County to help fight a stubborn brush fire that has charred 10,000 acres and threatens to triple in size, authorities said.

County fire officials said they sent five engines plus a bulldozer early Sunday morning to help fight the fire that began Saturday afternoon about 20 miles north of Goleta.

On Monday, Ventura County sent another six fire engines to help protect about a dozen ranches threatened by the flames, county fire dispatcher Kathee Wilson said.

Altogether, about 1,500 people from 10 local, state and federal agencies are working together to fight the blaze, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Ron Bassett said.

But temperatures well into the 90s on Monday and rugged terrain hampered efforts to stop the blaze, which hopped from ridge to ridge in the Figueroa Mountain area of the Los Padres National Forest, U.S. Forest Service Spokesman Earl Clayton said.

Firefighters on Monday pulled back from the flames in some areas and worked on a perimeter that would contain the blaze at 20,000 acres, Clayton said.

“If that doesn’t work, then we’ll try to get it at 25,000 acres, then 30,000,” he said. “We’re not optimistic we can do it before then.” He had no estimate on when the fire would be contained, he said.

Although the fire is moving north, away from populated areas in Goleta and Santa Barbara, about two dozen homes were threatened Monday, and authorities urged residents to leave the area, Clayton said.

Officials also were investigating reports that a handful of hikers and hunters may be in the area of the fire, he said.

The fire apparently was caused Saturday by two deer hunters who were smoking cigarettes, Bassett said.

Ventura County officials said the county has a mutual aid fire-protection agreement with the counties of Santa Barbara, Kern and Los Angeles.

Under the agreement, the jurisdiction where the fire is located reimburses outside agencies for their costs in fighting the blaze, officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.