Brush Fire Burning North of Lake Piru

A brush fire estimated at 20 to 30 acres, which may have been caused by a signal flare fired by hikers facing a medical emergency, was burning Tuesday night in Los Padres National Forest north of Lake Piru.

The fire was burning sage on a hillside between the swimming area at the lake’s northern end and the Blue Point campground, said Kathy Good, a spokeswoman with the Los Padres National Forest office in Goleta.

No campers were believed to be in danger from what is being dubbed the Bee fire, she said.

Three Ventura County fire engines, another from the city of Fillmore and a fifth from the U.S. Forest Service were assisting California Department of Forestry hand crews in fighting the blaze, authorities said. Additional equipment was expected to be added overnight.

A fire investigator was looking into the cause of the blaze, which began about 7:30 p.m.

“A hiker apparently told one of our engine captains they had fired off a signal flare, but we don’t know whether the flare caused the fire,” Good said.

Two hikers told county paramedics that they fired a signal flare after one of them began suffering a diabetic reaction. Thick fog, however, grounded the Sheriff’s Department helicopter that was to have airlifted the ill hiker from the area, a county fire dispatcher said. Authorities did not identify the hikers.