Fire northwest of Fort Collins still burning but crews make progress containing it

UPDATE: 12:30 p.m. Saturday: The County Road 21 fire is officially at 100% containment, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office announced. Command of clean-up will be turned back over to Wellington Fire Protection District.

More:More rain helps crews reach 100% containment on wildfire north of Fort Collins

UPDATE, 9:30 a.m. Saturday: The County Road 21 Fire received significant moisture overnight, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. the fire remains at 212 acres but containment is up to 75%.

UPDATE, 7:15 p.m. Friday: The County Road 21 Fire burning northwest of Fort Collins is estimated to be 212 acres and 50% contained, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office posted on Twitter on Friday evening.

The sheriff's office attributed the change in acreage from earlier estimates of 500 to 600 acres to better mapping.

Overnight Friday, one engine will patrol the fire, the sheriff's office said in the tweet, and in the morning, 40 personnel will attend to the fire.

There are no longer any voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders. The last voluntary evacuations were lifted around 6:30 p.m.

ORIGINAL STORY: A fire that broke out northeast of Ted's Place on Thursday afternoon and prompted mandatory evacuations is still burning but "calmed down" enough to allow residents to return home.

Light precipitation fell overnight, and Friday brought cool and overcast conditions.

The fire is located southwest of the intersection of Larimer County Road 66 and County Road 21, and those responding to the fire have called it the County Road 21 Fire on social media.

The sheriff's office said in a tweet Friday morning that the fire was estimated to be between 500 and 600 acres. It is 40% contained, the sheriff's office reported at 4 p.m. Friday.

County officials have not yet said what caused the fire.

More:Mandatory evacuations ordered due to County Road 21 Fire burning northwest of Fort Collins

While there had been mandatory evacuations in place Thursday and Friday, none were in effect as of 3 p.m. Friday.

Larimer County residents who live east of U.S. Highway 287, south to Arapaho Valley Road, east to County Road 21 and north to County Road 66 were downgraded from mandatory to voluntary evacuation status, county officials announced just before 1 p.m. Friday.

Voluntary evacuations were lifted for residents living in the area between County Road 66, south along County Road 21 to County Road 56 and west to County Road 21C around 12:30 p.m. Friday.

You can view current evacuation areas in the map below:

As of Friday morning, 60 personnel were still working on the fire, according to the sheriff's office. Poudre Fire Authority said in a tweet that they had special operations leaders, a crew and an engine on scene supporting efforts.

Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said in a Facebook post Thursday night that he hoped Friday morning's weather would allow them to get "a good jump on it" with much better conditions for crews.

More:Neighbor's live video of house on fire helps Larimer County responders assess situation

Friday's weather northwest of Fort Collins where the fire is burning is expected to stay cloudy throughout the day with a high of 61 degrees and a 20% chance of precipitation. Eastern winds in the area will be around 10 miles per hour with some gusts reaching 15-20 mph, the National Weather Service forecast office in Boulder told the Coloradoan.

Cloudy conditions were expected to continue overnight Friday, with the chance of rain increasing to about 60%. Temperatures were forecast to drop to a low of 45 degrees with eastern winds around 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

On Saturday, showers are likely before noon, with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 55. Winds are forecast to be around 10 mph with gusts into the upper teens. Winds are expected to become calm after midnight, with a low around 41.

Sunday's weather is forecast to heat up more, with a high near 77 and winds of 6 to 11 mph and gusts of up to 18 mph.

For updates, text LCEVAC to 888777.

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Wildfire northwest of Fort Collins still burning, but calmed overnight