Update: Biscar Fire spreads to 29,752.2 acres in Lassen County, remains 5% contained

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Updated: 7:56 p.m. July 19

First discovered: 67 hours ago, 12:06 a.m. July 17

Initial location: Snowstorm Road and Vincent Canyon, Northeast of Susanville, Lassen County, Calif.

Fire unit: Bureau of Land Management - Northern California

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Biscar Fire

Biscar Fire initially started 12:06 a.m. July 17 at Snowstorm Road and Vincent Canyon, Northeast of Susanville in Lassen County, California.

By Sunday evening, 29,752.2 acres of land had been destroyed by it, an increase of 17,414 acres since the last update. As of Sunday evening, the fire crew managed to contain 5% of this fire. At this time, 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 contained 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 19, 2026 at 8:13 AM.