Updated: 7:55 p.m. Aug. 1

First discovered: 4 hours ago, 3:39 p.m. Aug. 1

Initial location: Feliz Creek Road, Hopland, Mendocino County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Mendocino Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Feliz Fire

Feliz Fire initially started today at 3:39 p.m. on Feliz Creek Road, Hopland in Mendocino County, California.

As of Saturday evening, it had burned 550 acres, an increase of 350 acres since the last update. By Saturday evening, 5% of the wildfire was brought under containment. There is currently no information on the cause of the fire.

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 5% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 5% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 95% 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