Update: Brite Fire in Kern County remains fully contained as of Saturday evening
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Updated: 10:02 p.m. May 9
First discovered: 5 hours ago, 4:02 p.m. May 9
Initial location: Elk Hills Rd and Brite Rd, Buttonwillow, Kern County, Calif.
Fire unit: Kern County Fire Department
Fire type: Wildfire
Fire name: Brite Fire
Brite Fire initially started today at 4:02 p.m. at Elk Hills Rd and Brite Rd, Buttonwillow in Kern County, California.
It has burned 665.4 acres after being active for five hours. By Saturday evening, the fire has been fully contained. However, the cause is still under investigation.
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 firefighters have managed to get a line completely around the wildfire's perimeter 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
United Robots Sacramento
This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 2:52 PM.