Update: 100% containment now attained for Cherry Fire in Riverside County

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Updated: 12:33 a.m. June 23

First discovered: 13 hours ago, 10:52 a.m. June 22

Initial location: I-10 and Cherry Valley Blvd, Cherry Valley, Riverside County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Riverside Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Cherry Fire

Cherry Fire initially started 10:52 a.m. June 22 at I-10 and Cherry Valley Blvd, Cherry Valley in Riverside County, California.

It has burned 89 acres after being active for 13 hours. A crew of 50 firefighters managed to contain the blaze entirely as of Tuesday midnight. However, the cause is still being investigated.

10 engines, three water tenders and two hand crews have been working to control the fire. According to Cal Fire, "Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow."

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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