8 a.m. Saturday update: Poudre Fire Authority cleared the scene of the Hoffman Mill Fire at 7 a.m., the fire agency reported in a tweet. Smoke may still be visible, and workers and machinery will remain on scene.

"The mulch and slash continues to smoke," PFA said in its tweet. "The fire beyond the piles is contained. Please do not call 911 for smoke in the area of 1380 Hoffman Mill Road."

8:45 p.m. Friday update: According to the City of Fort Collins, firefighting crews will remain on scene throughout the evening as they continue to battle the blaze. Nearby residents and businesses could continue to be impacted by smoke.

Some good news: Winds are expected to calm down starting around midnight, which should help with firefighting efforts.

Poudre Fire Authority firefighters are battling a wind-blown fire spreading in a city-owned slash pile east of the intersection of Lemay and Riverside avenues in central Fort Collins.

The fire, reported shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, is spreading from west to east across a large mulch pile at Fort Collins Crushing Operations north of Hoffman Mill Road.

Multiple firefighting vehicles are on scene, attempting to contain the fire, which has spread across the pile.

No evacuations have been ordered, according to a Poudre Fire Authority update on Twitter just after 6 p.m.

By 6 p.m., a small crowd of onlookers had gathered at the Coloradoan parking lot at 1300 Riverside Ave. to watch the fire, which sent a large cloud of gray smoke into the air.

Friday's continued high winds continued to fan the fire, even as firefighters put down heads that spread. By 6 p.m., firefighters were attempting to separate a slash pile to prevent its further eastward spread.

Earlier in the day, firefighters were sent to the Temple Grandin Equine Center in west Fort Collins to battle a manure fire. That fire was quickly controlled and mopped up.

At 2:19 p.m., PFA responded to the horse corrals west of Overland Trail and Rampart Road, the fire agency said in a Facebook post.

"There were multiple small manure fires throughout the corrals," the post said, but no people or animals were in the corrals or injured.

Smoke may still be visible, PFA said, and crews expect to remain on scene because of the windy conditions.

Return to Coloradoan.com for more on this developing story.

Coloradoan editor Eric Larsen can be reached at ericlarsen@coloradoan.com or 970-224-7745 (call or text). Support journalism in Fort Collins and subscribe today at offers.coloradoan.com/specialoffer.