Topeka Fire Department crews responded to a large brush fire early Monday near the Kansas River on the city’s north side. The fire was reported around 6:32 a.m. in a tree line on the north side of the Kansas River, south of the 500 block of N.E. Sardou in the city’s Little Russia neighborhood. Fire crews used a brush truck to get to the brush fire and had it under control in a matter of about 15 minutes. However, the pile continued to smolder and produce a large amount of smoke for more than a half-hour. A steady south breeze took the smoke north and west from the scene. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze.