FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A 350 to 400-acre wildfire was burning in Larimer County west of Fort Collins Tuesday night.

The grass and brush fire is located in the Picnic rock area of Poudre Canyon, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office and broke out at 11:17 a.m. This is approximately 2½ miles west of Ted's Place.

The blaze was first reported as 5 acres in size, but quickly expanded through the afternoon and evening, doubling and tripling in size.

Winds were pushing the fire to the northwest.

Firefighters were keeping a close watch on homes in the area and planned to continue to do so through the night

The Poudre Fire Authority has seven pieces of firefighting equipment on the scene and has requested additional resources from the United State Forest Service.

Firefighters took action to protect one home, but no evacuations or road closures are in effect.

Thirty-five firefighters battled the blaze Tuesday. A water-dropping helicopter was helping fight the fire.

Ten firefighters will monitor the fire overnight.

The blaze was expected to produce considerable smoke in the canyon and along the Front Range, throughout the night.

"An air tanker has been ordered for the morning and the helicopter will continue to do bucket drops throughout the day (Wednesday)," said Eloise B. Campanella, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

Officials didn't have an estimate on when the fire will be contained.

The cause is believed to be burning trash blown out of its container by wind gusts, according to Larimer County.

An update on the fire will be released to the media at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.