Updated: 5:56 p.m. July 28

First discovered: 51 hours ago, 2:48 p.m. July 26

Initial location: Highway 108 & Mill Villa Road, Sonora, Tuolumne County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Dove Fire

Dove Fire initially started 2:48 p.m. July 26 at Highway 108 & Mill Villa Road, Sonora in Tuolumne County, California.

As of Tuesday evening, 225.7 acres of land had been burnt by it. By Tuesday evening, the fire crew succeeded in containing 40% of the fire. Currently, there are no details on the cause of the fire.

Fire containment

This is what 40% containment means

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 40% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 60% 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