Updated: 8:21 a.m. Nov. 5
First discovered: 6 months ago, 8:59 p.m. May 19
Initial location: Spring Hill Mount Shasta City, Siskiyou County, Calif.
Fire unit: Cal Fire Siskiyou Unit and Mt. Shasta City Fire Department
Fire type: Wildfire
Fire name: Spring Fire
Spring Fire initially started 8:59 p.m. May 19 in Siskiyou County, California.
It has burned 12 acres after being active for six months. As of Wednesday morning, the fire has been fully contained. The cause of it is still under investigation.
According to Cal Fire, “Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow.”
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