BEND, OR -- A small brush fire northwest of Bend, Tuesday morning, could have been much worse. Bend Fire says defensible space created by the property owners helped keep the fire’s spread to a minimum. And, employees from nearby stables acted quickly, using a portable water tank to attack the flames before firefighters arrived.

The blaze was reported on Bull Springs Road at about 10 a.m. It was kept at just over a tenth of an acre; the cause could not be determined.