Pick-up truck crash sparks a brush fire

Firefighters were sent scrambling to Newport Coast Drive on Tuesday afternoon after a pick-up truck crashed and started a small brush fire, authorities said.

About 3:15 p.m., police said a truck crashed off the side of the road near Provence and Newport Coast Drive in Newport Beach into the brush, quickly sending flames upward toward nearby homes.

Firefighters en route saw a large plume of smoke rising from the crash and called for more units, aware that the dry conditions in the area needed only minutes to rapidly expand the flames. Firefighters arrived and found the truck fully engulfed, and rescued the driver, said department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz.

The driver was sent to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. The fire was put out in less than 20 minutes. Two dozen firefighters responded to the scene, Schulz said. Details on how the accident occurred were not immediately available from police.