Update: Santa Fire in Merced County remains 100% contained by Thursday morning

The creation of this content included the use of AI based on templates created, reviewed and edited by journalists in the newsroom. Read more on our AI policy here.

Updated: 7:12 a.m. May 21

First discovered: 38 hours ago, 4:47 p.m. May 19

Initial location: Seast of Hwy 152 near Dinosaur Pt. Road, San Luis Reservoir, Merced County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Santa Fire

Santa Fire initially started 4:47 p.m. May 19 near Seast of Hwy 152 near Dinosaur Pt. Road, San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, California.

It has burned 160 acres after being active for 38 hours. As of Thursday morning, the blaze has been fully contained. The cause is, however, still being investigated.

See live video from the area:

Https://cameras.alertcalifornia.org/?id=Axis-SanLuisReservoir1

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: Cal Fire

United Robots Sacramento