Update: Vista Fire grows to 183 acres in Riverside County, containment still at 25%

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Updated: 5:42 a.m. April 18

First discovered: 13 hours ago, 4:24 p.m. April 17

Initial location: El Torro Road, North of Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Riverside Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Vista Fire

Vista Fire initially started 4:24 p.m. April 17 on El Torro Road, North of Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, California.

It has burned 183 acres after being active for 13 hours, an increase of 42 acres since the last update. As of Saturday morning, the fire crew succeeded in containing 25% of this fire. The cause of it is still under investigation.

See live video from the area:

Https://ops.alertcalifornia.org/cam-console/Axis-Elsinore2

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 25% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 25% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 75% 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

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 6:02 AM.