Update: Nearly fully contained - Foothill Fire in Santa Barbara County at 90%

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Updated: 7:03 a.m. May 23

First discovered: 4 days ago, 5:18 p.m. May 19

Initial location: Foothill Road and Kirschenmann Road, Cuyama, Santa Barbara County, Calif.

Fire unit: Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Foothill Fire

Foothill Fire initially started 5:18 p.m. May 19 at Foothill Road and Kirschenmann Road, Cuyama in Santa Barbara County, California.

After being active for four days, it has burned 904 acres. As of Saturday morning, the fire crew effectively contained 90% of this fire. The cause of it remains under investigation.

Evacuation information from Cal Fire

Evacuation Warnings

Potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now.

Evacuation Warnings issued for the following zones: All warnings have been lifted.

See live video from the area:

Https://cameras.alertcalifornia.org/?id=Axis-PelatoPeakWest

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 90% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 90% of the wildfire is halted from spreading, while 10% 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 May 23, 2026 at 7:27 AM.