Update: Lamb Fire in Trinity County remains 100% contained by noon Friday

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Updated: 12:15 p.m. April 17

First discovered: 83 days ago, 2:17 p.m. Jan. 24

Initial location: Hastings Tie Road, three miles north of Mad River, Trinity County, Calif.

Fire unit: U.S. Forest Service Six Rivers National Forest

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Lamb Fire

Lamb Fire initially started 2:17 p.m. Jan. 24 on Hastings Tie Road, three miles north of Mad River in Trinity County, California.

Since its discovery 83 days ago, it has burned 10 acres. As of Friday noon, the fire has been fully contained. The cause is, however, still being investigated.

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 the wildfire has been fully enclosed by a control line 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

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 12:24 PM.