What does ‘5% contained’ mean when it comes to fires?

Question

& how do firefighters ‘contain’ a fire and keep it contained?

[This is the fire I’m referencing.](https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2022/9/5/fairview-fire/)

In: 2

Answer 1

It’s a rough estimate of how much of the perimeter the fire technicians are confident will not spread any further. If they’re confident that roughly 5 miles of a fire that’s 100 miles around won’t spread further then that’s 5% containment.