Updated: 6:11 a.m. July 21

First discovered: 37 hours ago, 4:49 p.m. July 19

Initial location: New Peoria Flat Road and Tulloch Lake Estates Road, Jamestown, Tuolumne County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Line Fire

Line Fire initially started 4:49 p.m. July 19 at New Peoria Flat Road and Tulloch Lake Estates Road, Jamestown in Tuolumne County, California.

By Tuesday morning, 15 acres of land had been scorched by it. As of Tuesday morning, 50% of the wildfire was brought under containment. Currently, there are no details on the cause of the fire.

Fire containment

Interpreting what 50% containment means

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 50% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 50% is still uncontrolled.

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