A vegetation fire that started near the end of the runway at Outlying Field Coupeville and spanned 10 acres Wednesday afternoon was successfully contained with no injuries reported, according to Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue.

Twelve Central Whidbey firefighters and five from the Navy Region Northwest Fire and Emergency Services responded to the blaze, reported around 3:49 p.m. on July 28.

The fire was believed to have been caused by a plastic part of a tractor that caught fire, according to Fire Chief Ed Hartin. At the time of the incident, the tractor was mowing the grass on the Navy’s property.

Flames spread past the property and headed toward Patmore Road and Highway 20. Wind from the west threatened nearby homes, Hartin said, but ultimately no structures were affected. The fire was “knocked down” in about 40 minutes to an hour, with crews sticking around for a few more hours to clean up hotspots.

Miraculously, the tractor survived the blaze. Although it was in the middle of the fire, it was in an area where the grass was already cut, so the height of the flames wasn’t as great there, Hardin explained.

“We’ve had multiple instances where people have been mowing grass and either there’s a malfunction with the lawn mower, or they hit a rock and create a spark,” he said.

Hardin pointed out that the fire on Central Whidbey was mild compared to those that have been burning for days in other parts of the West Coast, such as the Bootleg fire in southern Oregon. Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue has sent firefighters to help contain that blaze.