BEND, OR -- It’s early in the season, but local firefighters are already responding to incidents typically seen in the summer. 

Illegal fireworks are blamed for a small brush fire along the railroad tracks in southeast Bend. The Friday afternoon blaze near Brookhollow and Honeysuckle scorched about half an acre. 

That evening, Jefferson County crews responded to a fire at a Metolius-area home, caused by a barbecue placed to close to a house on SW Eureka Lane. They say grease ignited and spread to the building. The owner knocked down the flames before firefighters arrived, but not before it damaged the siding.