Updated: 8:12 p.m. Aug. 16

First discovered: 8 days ago, 2:26 p.m. Aug. 8

Initial location: Lowell Hill Road and Dutch Flat Powerhouse Road, north of Gold Run, Nevada County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Flat Fire

Flat Fire initially started at 2:26 p.m. Aug. 8 north of Lowell Hill Road and Dutch Flat Powerhouse Road, north of Gold Run in Nevada County, California.

As of Sunday evening, 20 acres of land had been scorched by it. By Sunday evening, the fire crew succeeded in containing 98% of the wildfire. At this time, there are no details on the cause of the fire.

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 98% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 98% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 2% 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