Updated: 7:56 p.m. March 27

First discovered: 3 days ago, 11:24 a.m. March 24

Initial location: Highway 86 and 72nd Avenue, Thermal, Riverside County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Riverside Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Buchanan Fire

Buchanan Fire initially started 11:24 a.m. March 24 in Riverside County.

It has burned 25 acres after being active for three days. By Thursday evening, the blaze has been fully contained by a crew of eight firefighters. However, the cause is still being investigated.

Two engines, one water tender and one dozer have been working to suppress the fire. According to Cal Fire, “Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow.”

Cal Fire status update

Situation Summary

UPDATE 03/27/25 at 7:30AM – Firefighters continue making excellent progress, holding the fire at 25 acres with 85% containment. Crews are focused on reinforcing control lines and addressing any remaining hotspots to ensure full containment. Today, two fire engines and one water tender will remain on-scene, conducting mop-up operations and patrolling the burn area.

UPDATE 03/26/25 at 10:30AM – The fire remains at 25 acres and is 60% contained. Firefighters are working diligently to reach a full containment.

UPDATE 03/25/25 at 7PM – The fire remains at 25 acres and is now 60% contained. Firefighters strengthened control lines around the burn area and will remain on-scene overnight for extensive mop-up to ensure full containment is reached.

UPDATE 03/25/25 at 7:32AM – The fire remains 25 acres and is now 32% contained. A day assignment of eight fire engines, two water tenders and a bulldozer will be present today, continuing to work on overhaul and full containment.

UPDATE 03/24/25 AT 8:00PM – The fire remains 25 acres and 25% contained. Firefighters will remain on-scene overnight working on mop-up in heavy fuel loading. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital for a minor medical complaint. This will be the final update of the evening unless significant changes occur.

UPDATE 3/24/25 at 3:55 PM – The fire remains at 25 acres and is now 25% contained. Firefighters are engaged in heavy mop-up within the fire perimeter. Resources are expected to remain on scene throughout the night and into tomorrow.

Firefighters are on-scene of fire burning at a moderate rate of spread in heavy fuels. The fire is spotting ahead of itself in mulch piles and making runs across levees that are in place. Five additional type III (off-road) engines have been requested for access issues.

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