APTOS >> Crews were able to stop the spread of a vegetation fire near Aptos High School that was reportedly caused by an Amazon delivery van that was stuck after backing into a nearby field Sunday evening.

Richard MacDonald, battalion chief of the Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County, said officials first received a call at 5:56 p.m. and arrived on the scene at Shadowmere Way in Aptos. The van had reportedly been driving up Shadowmere, a one-lane road that passes along the northern end of the Aptos High campus near the upper baseball field, and backed up into a private property field to turn around but got stuck, leaving the driver to spin his tires. This ignited the grass, which had recently been mowed.

“That’s probably what kept it in check,” said MacDonald. “It was a slow rate of spread.”

A water tender, two Type 1 firetrucks, two Type 3 firetrucks and a battalion truck from Cal Fire were deployed. MacDonald said crews put water around the fire to contain it and kept it from burning the nearby eucalyptus grove. Once Cal Fire arrived at the scene, he said its crews took over as the site fell within a state response area.

The fire was extinguished within 25 minutes and burned a quarter of an acre. No structures were burned, and the driver was not treated for any injuries, although MacDonald said the van burned to the ground. He said it was unclear if the fire was caused by a result of hot exhaust on dry grass or a spark of some kind.