Updated: 12:52 p.m. Nov. 19

First discovered: 6 days ago, 11:15 a.m. Nov. 13

Initial location: McGee Creek Road, West of Highway 395, Crowley Lake, Mono County, Calif.

Fire unit: Inyo National Forest

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Pack Fire

Pack Fire initially started 11:15 a.m. Nov. 13 in Mono County, California.

It has burned 1,974 acres after being active for six days. A crew of 614 firefighters has been working on site and they managed to contain 96% of the fire as of Wednesday noon. However, the cause is still under investigation.

33 engines, four water tenders, one dozer and 22 hand crews will continue to combat the blaze. According to Cal Fire, “Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow.”

See live video from the area:

Https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/Axis-SilverPeak2

Fire containment

Interpreting what 96% containment means

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 96% of the wildfire is halted from spreading, while 4% 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