Update: Pierce Fire spreads to 200 acres in Kern County, now 5% contained

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Updated: 6:36 p.m. June 23

First discovered: 5:14 p.m. June 23

Initial location: West of Lincoln Street, Taft, Kern County, Calif.

Fire unit: Kern County Fire Department

Fire type: Wildfire

Fire name: Pierce Fire

Pierce Fire initially started today at 5:14 p.m. in West of Lincoln Street, Taft in Kern County, California.

As of Tuesday evening, 200 acres of land had been destroyed by it, an increase of 150 acres since the last update. By Tuesday evening, the fire crew managed to contain 5% of this fire.

Evacuation information from Cal Fire

Evacuation Orders

Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW. The area is lawfully closed to public access.

Evacuation orders have been issued for the following zones:

TFT-275-B

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 have been issued for the following zones:

TFT-265

TFT-267

See live video from the area:

Https://cameras.alertcalifornia.org/?id=Axis-BuenaVistaKern1

Fire containment

What does it mean for a fire to be 5% contained?

Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 5% of the wildfire is halted from spreading, while 95% 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 June 23, 2026 at 5:42 PM.