Updated: 10:24 p.m. Sep. 15
First discovered: 13 days ago, 9:28 a.m. Sep. 2
Initial location: North of Mule Creek, Shasta County, Calif.
Fire unit: Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Fire type: Wildfire
Fire name: Swift Complex
Swift Complex Fire initially started 9:28 a.m. Sep. 2 in Shasta County, California.
After being active for 13 days, it has burned 644 acres. By Monday evening, the fire crew successfully encircled the entire perimeter of the fire in control lines. It is assumed that lightning sparked the fire.
Historic data
NIFC figures for 2023 indicate that lightning was responsible for 305 fires in California, with 90,206 acres of wildland burned.
Fire containment
What does 100% containment mean?
Note that full containment doesn’t mean the fire is completely out. In this case, it means that the wildfire has been fully enclosed by a control line and it is now stopped from spreading. A fully contained wildfire may continue to burn within the containment perimeter but is not likely to spread.
However, there’s a significant difference between containing and controlling a wildfire. After the fire is fully contained, the next step is to control it. Controlling a fire means ensuring that the fire can’t spread or cross the containment line.
Containment is part of a larger plan for managing a wildfire. It is normally expressed as a percentage and it refers to how much of the fire perimeter has been surrounded/enclosed by a control line that firefighters create. The containment percentage indicates a certain level of control, but it doesn’t always correlate to safety level. Also, it’s important to note that containment doesn’t mean a fire is out.
How is containment measured?
The incident’s central command constantly receives progress reports from firefighters on the ground. As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage. The percentage tells the public how much of the fire perimeter is believed to not go beyond the control lines.
Source: Cal Fire