The Routt County Sheriff’s department has issued a preliminary identification for the cause of the Green Ridge Fire south of Stagecoach Reservoir. 

Sheriff Doug Scherar told the newspaper Tuesday afternoon that the fire, which was reported at around noon on Sunday, was caused by a tractor baling hay. 

Scherar said he spoke to the tractor operator, who saw the smoke and subsequent flames and reported the fire to emergency services. 

“Obviously, we have to have our investigation and have a chance to actually get in there and look and see where it happened to confirm that,” explained Scherar, “but that’s a preliminary report.” 

The timeline for when department personnel can complete the investigation depends on fire activity and containment, and when law enforcement officials can safely access the origin. 

Scherar said the response to the Green Ridge Fire is going “really, really well” and that structure protection is “looking good.” 

As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, the fire has reached 45 acres and is 45% contained, according to an update from the Colorado Type 3 Incident Management Team, which took over command of the fire response at 8 p.m. on Monday.