Update: Nearly fully contained – Jaw Fire in Kern County at 90%

Published May 26, 2025 #Jaw fire

Updated: 5:31 p.m. May 25

First discovered: 6 days ago, 2:23 p.m. May 19

Initial location: Kelso Valley Road & Jawbone Canyon Road, Kern County, Calif.

Fire unit: Kern County Fire & Bureau of Land Management

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Jaw Fire

Jaw Fire initially started 2:23 p.m. May 19 in Kern County.

After being active for six days, it has burned 4,327 acres. As of Sunday evening, 90% of the wildfire was brought under containment. The cause of it remains under investigation.

See live video from the area:

Https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/Axis-ThumbMtn1

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 90% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 90% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 10% 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