Firefighters contain Ponds Fire in Fort Collins; evacuations lifted for affected Northern Colorado homes

After a firefight that lasted about 2 hours, firefighters contained the Ponds Fire on the western edge of Fort Collins on Thursday night.

The 8-acre burn area is located east of Horsetooth Reservoir and it burned near homes, according to the Poudre Fire Authority.

Mandatory evacuations that were ordered for the Ponds at Overland and Westgate neighborhoods to the west of South Overland Trail were downgraded to voluntary evacuations and then lifted before 7:30 p.m.

Fort Collins police said the emergency call about the fire came in just before 5 p.m.

Nearly an hour later firefighters were building suppression lines around the fire.

A firefighter was taken to the hospital with serious burns, Poudre Fire Authority said.

So far there's no word on how it started.  

Rocky Mountain High School had been set up as an evacuation gathering point for people who had to leave their homes.

Northern Colorado was under a red flag warning for high fire danger throughout the day on Thursday, with expected wind gusts of up to 40 mph and humidity levels down to 10%.