Newsletters
California's Little Fire burned through 1,007.3 acres in Alameda County within hours of breaking out, while containment remained at 10% by Tuesday evening.
The wildfire was first detected at 3:39 p.m. on July 21 near Vallecitos Road and Little Valley Road in Sunol, a community in California's Alameda County.
Cal Fire's Santa Clara Unit and the Alameda County Fire Department joined forces under a unified command structure to coordinate the response.
The fire picked up another 57 acres between official updates, pushing the total affected area beyond 1,000 acres by Tuesday evening.
Authorities had not released any information about what set off the Little Fire as crews continued working around the affected area.
A containment level of 10% means firefighters have surrounded one-tenth of the wildfire's perimeter with control lines intended to keep the flames from spreading beyond them.
Although some progress had been made, 90% of the fire's perimeter had not yet been boxed in by completed control lines.
Firefighters create control lines by clearing or reinforcing areas around a wildfire so that flames are less likely to cross over and spread further.
Incident commanders gather updates from firefighters on the ground, while mapping teams record newly constructed, inspected or reinforced firelines to revise the containment figure.
The reported percentage measures progress around the wildfire's perimeter rather than overall safety, and a contained section may still continue burning within established control lines.
Set as preferred source
7 min read
