Monterey County -- Cal Fire is again reminding you of the importance of clearing weeds and brush around your home or property and how important is to be careful about how you do that.
Investigators say Central cCast rancher started a wildfire today while clearing around some fields.
About 70 acres burned on a goat farm near San Miguel. The owner was using a tractor to clear protective space around his fields when he sparked the fire.
Crews say you should do this type of work either early or late in the day when it is cooler and humidity is higher.
The fire burned in the dry hills just over the San Luis Obispo County line on Ranchita Canyon Road.
Cal Fire crews from Monterey, San Benito, and San Luis Obispo Counties battled the 70 acre fire for several hours this afternoon.
A lot of the work was done from the air by the tankers stationed at the Paso Robles Airport.
Crews say the owner was trying to do the right thing but the combination of the hot weather and windy conditions with the sparks from his tractor actually started the fire.
Cal Fire says the reason the fire didn't spread more is the previous work the owner did clearing the property and also because once the fire got started he continued to use his tractor to create a fire break to contain the flames until crews arrived.
