Day three of the Hewlett fire and it is now nearly 1,000 acres or more than 1 and 1/2 square miles.
The fire is still only 5 percent contained and today the has been turned over to the Type 2 fire team meaning the fire is expected to burn for days.
There has been one report a fire fighter was injured. Larimer County authorities say it was once of their personnel members that was injured. Officials say they believe he was dehydrated and fell and injured himself.
Fire officials did confirm the fire was human-caused but did not elaborate any further on what may have started the fire other than it was human-caused.
The bad news is the winds are suppose to pick up on Wednesday and the combination of wind, terrain and open timber and grass may intensify the fire.
Officials say the fire is mainly on the north and northwest sides and crews are making progress on the south and southeast sides of the area near Hewlett Gulch Trail.
Nearly 100 people are working the fire and they are also using a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT), Type 1 and 3 Helicopters with Air Attack (coordinates air resources from the sky), to assist ground firefighters. The SEAT is making retardant drops and the Type 3 helicopter is making water drops. Firefighters are focusing on structure protection, securing fire line in areas near the community, and public and firefighter safety today. Engines will be in the areas with structures monitoring overnight.
According to our news partner the Loveland Reporter-Herald, the Larimer County undersheriff told the county commissioners Tuesday, "There's no obvious natural cause for the fire, which leads us to believe it is a man-caused fire," Undersheriff Bill Nelson told the Larimer County commissioners on Tuesday. "I think it's probably accidental."
Jackie Parks, a spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service says they will not make any determination on what started the fire until they complete a thorough investigation.
