Updated: 6:22 a.m. Aug. 25

First discovered: More than a month ago, 6:15 a.m. July 14

Initial location: Southeast of Barnes Mountain and northeast of Pine Flat Reservoir in Fresno County., Calif.

Fire unit: Sierra National Forest

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: 2025 Max Fire

2025 Max Fire initially started 6:15 a.m. July 14 in Fresno County, California.

After being active for more than a month, it has burned 426 acres. By Monday morning, a fire crew of 65 has achieved full containment of the blaze. The fire’s cause remains under investigation.

Fuels involved in this wildfire, according to InciWeb: “Tall Grass (2.5 feet) Chaparral (6 feet) Timber (Litter and Understory).”

Incident description

Evacuation Order Lifted for Max Fire Roadblocks are still in place as firefighting equipment remains in the area. To sign up for emergency alerts within Fresno County click here: https://member.everbridge.net/453003085614497/new.

More reports from InciWeb:

• Incident overview:

“The Max Fire broke out on the Sierra National Forest shortly after 1 pm on July 13 and is located southeast of Barnes Mountain and northeast of Pine Flat Reservoir in Fresno County. CHP and Fresno County Sheriff’s Office are responding with localized evacuations of forest visitors and campers in Blue Canyon and establishing road closures on Dinkey Creek Road. 10S17, Trimmer Springs Road, and 10S69 Big Creek Road. A full response was initiated that includes two large air tankers (LATs) along with multiple engines and hand crews. The Sierra National Forest is the lead agency for this wildfire.”

• Projected incident activity:

“Minimal to no fire activity is expected.”

• Weather concerns:

“Sunny, 86-96 degrees, relative humidity 33-43%.”

• Significant events:

“Fire behavior is minimal to none at this time.”

• Other remarks:

“Cooperator agencies include: Pacific Gas and Electric, Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Fresno County Sherriff’s Department.”

Please note that these reports are automatically published and unreviewed quotes from InciWeb. Therefore they might be incomplete, hard to read or include misspelled words.

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 firefighters have managed to get a line completely around the wildfire’s perimeter 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: InciWeb