County law enforcement officials and firefighters responded to a call Friday afternoon reporting a fire on Heath Drive in Ione.

Ione Police Department Chief Mike Johnson and Officer Jeff Arnold were first on the scene after taking the call, which came in shortly after 4 p.m.

"The call went out and we headed right over," Johnson told the Ledger Dispatch Monday morning. It's normal, he added, for county law enforcement officials to respond to fires and secure the area for county firefighters, who are volunteers.

"We started sealing off the perimeter for the fire department," Johnson added. "We were only there two or three minutes" before the Ione Fire Department arrived, he said. State firefighters also arrived on the scene to serve as back-up for the fire department. There is a CAL FIRE station in Ione.

About four or five nearby residents were asked to evacuate their homes, Johnson said.

Details, including the cause of the fire and the amount of damage, were not yet available as of Monday morning.

The Ione Fire Department was unable to be reached before Monday's deadline.