Update: 3-1 Pit Fire expands to 800 acres in Lassen County, remains 5% contained
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Updated: 3:35 a.m. July 8
First discovered: 14 hours ago, 1:35 p.m. July 7
Initial location: Little Valley Road & Wilson Springs Road, southeast of McArthur, Lassen County, Calif.
Fire unit: Cal Fire Lassen-Modoc Unit
Fire type: Wildfire
Fire name: 3-1 Pit Fire
3-1 Pit Fire initially started 1:35 p.m. July 7 at Little Valley Road & Wilson Springs Road, southeast of McArthur in Lassen County, California.
As of Wednesday morning, 800 acres of land had been destroyed by it, an increase of 80 acres since the last update. By Wednesday morning, the fire crew effectively contained 5% of this wildfire. Currently, details about the cause of the fire are unknown.
Fire containment
What does it mean for a fire to be 5% contained?
Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 5% of the wildfire is halted from spreading, while 95% 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 July 8, 2026 at 4:07 AM.