A small plane caught fire Thursday morning at the Marin County Airport in Novato, triggering a temporary closure of the runway.

The blaze was reported around 11:15 a.m. as smoke billowed from the single-engine, low-wing plane, according to fire officials.

Firefighters shut down the runway and quickly doused the blaze, said Novato fire Battalion Chief Jeff Whittet.

The aircraft’s pilot, who was the only person onboard, told fire officials he started the engine and “immediately noticed something was wrong,” Whittet said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No injuries were reported and the runway reopened before noon, Whittet said. The fire damaged the plane but didn’t spread to nearby structures, he noted.

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