A small private plane crashed near the United States Highway 101 between Glen Annie Road and Los Carneros Road around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Two people were on the plane and suffered critical injuries, but there were no fatalities.

The crash caused a vegetation fire that burned about half an acre of land before being extinguished by 2:40 p.m. Authorities briefly closed Highway 101 following the crash.

Dos Pueblos High School administration first became aware of the situation when the Dean of Student Engagement, Bethany Bodenhamer, felt her house shake and noticed smoke shortly after. Bodenhamer sent out a notice from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department about the plane crash, and DPHS Principal Bill Woodard contacted his superintendent, district officials, and the Goleta Valley Junior High principal about the event.

“I didn’t really know the impact, didn’t know who was involved, didn’t know how big it was … but when we started hearing all the sirens and seeing the traffic back up on the freeway, we realized we should probably let our school community know,” Woodard said.

With another plane crash occurring in Washington, D.C. hours after the one in Goleta, Woodard said that people should make sure they are prepared for emergency situations.

“It’s just a reminder [to] everybody … to be safe and cautious,” Woodard said. “Have a plan for what you would do in case of any emergency.”

The Federal Aviation Administration is currently investigating the situation further.