Update: Verona Fire in Riverside County nears full containment at 95%

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Updated: 9:11 a.m. May 24

First discovered: 5 days ago, 12:20 p.m. May 19

Initial location: Verona Road and Juniper Springs Road, unincorporated Green Acres and Homeland area, Riverside County, Calif.

Fire unit: Cal Fire Riverside Unit

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Verona Fire

Verona Fire initially started 12:20 p.m. May 19 at Verona Road and Juniper Springs Road, unincorporated Green Acres and Homeland area in Riverside County, California.

It has burned 638 acres after being active for five days. A crew of 258 firefighters has been working on site and, as of Sunday morning, they managed to contain 95% of the fire. Investigations into its cause are still ongoing.

The firefighting efforts involve 15 engines, seven water tenders and seven hand crews. According to Cal Fire, "Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow."

See live video from the area:

Https://cameras.alertcalifornia.org/?id=Axis-Elsinore2

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 95% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 95% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 5% 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 24, 2026 at 9:31 AM.