A small but tall brush fire sent flames nearly 40 feet in the air as fire crews from South Bend, Menlo, Raymond and the Washington Department of Natural Resources battled the approximate 90 square-foot blaze on Thursday near the wooded edge of a South Bend neighborhood.

The fire broke out at about 5:50 p.m. in a wooded area about 400 feet south of Payne’s Alley near Ferry Street.

Fire personnel from South Bend and Menlo fire departments were on the scene within minutes with firefighters from Raymond and the DNR not far behind. Approximately 31 firefighters and five firetrucks — four pumper trucks and one brush truck — responded and had the fire contained by 6:13 p.m., just 21 minutes after first receiving the call.

“We got to it quick enough to where it wasn’t a problem,” South Bend Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim McGee said. “We have some pretty good guys in our department that were pretty quick to respond to it.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

No structures or homes were damaged in the blaze which burnt vegetation and approximately eight to 10 trees in the area. The fire came within approximately 150-200 feet of a home to the west of the blaze, but the fire was controlled before any damage could be done to the structure.

“People were kind of in awe there was a fire up there,” said South Bend resident Karla Webber, who lives in the area.

Webber said though flames shooting up from the trees was “scary for the neighbors” with homes in the area, fire crews were quickly on scene and had the blaze under control.

“We watched everything for about an hour, but for most of that the fire was pretty much out,” she said.

A Facebook post from the South Bend department read, “With a quick response and the outstanding turnout with assistance from Menlo Fire, DNR, and several Raymond Fire Fighters minutes behind our crew a situation that could have devastated our town was put to bed with ease.

“South Bend Fire would like to give a big shout out of thanks to our neighboring districts and our citizens that reported in a timely fashion. This is a reminder to all of us that we are being faced with serious fire conditions and need to take precautionary measures.”

McGee said the quick response from local fire crews and police, which helped to control traffic in the area, and the timely reports from the community helped to control the fire before it could get out of hand, particularly with western Washington being under a red-flag fire warning due to high winds and warm, dry temperatures.

“If it was a day or two before (when the winds were stronger), it could have been real bad,” he said. “The local fire departments and police department lent a hand, and we were really appreciative of that.”

To report a fire in your area, call 911.