Updated: 7:27 a.m. July 13

First discovered: 11 days ago, 5:17 p.m. July 2

Initial location: Trinity County, Calif.

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Helena

Helena Fire initially started 5:17 p.m. July 2 in Trinity County, 2 Miles N From Helena.

After being active for 11 days, it has burned 105 acres of federal land managed by the United States Forest Service. As of Sunday morning, a fire crew of 84 has achieved full containment of the blaze. The fire is believed to have occurred naturally. To date, the cost for addressing the fire amounts to $2,000,000.

This fire’s primary fuel source includes timber, litter and understory vegetation.

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 whole perimeter of the wildfire has been surrounded 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: National Interagency Fire Center