Update: Putah Fire in Yolo County remains 100% contained as of Saturday evening

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Updated: 9:48 p.m. June 20

First discovered: 12 days ago, 11:34 a.m. June 8

Initial location: Highway 128, west of Winters, Yolo County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Putah Fire

Putah Fire initially started 11:34 a.m. June 8 on Highway 128, west of Winters in Yolo County, California.

After being active for 12 days, it has burned 860 acres. By Saturday evening, a fire crew of ten has achieved full containment of the blaze. The cause of the fire is believed to be escaped prescribed burn.

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 whole perimeter of the wildfire has been surrounded 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 June 20, 2026 at 8:44 PM.