What does wildfire containment mean? Is it related to the amount of flames and smoke we see? Kevin Jeanes explains for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.
For most of Southern California, red flag warnings were ending at 6 p.m. Wednesday night, meaning the danger of strong winds fanning and spreading wildfire flames was lower than it has been earlier in the day.
However, some places around Santa Clarita were still under a red flag warning through Thursday at 3 p.m.:
![](https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/01/windy1.png?resize=218%2C123&quality=85&strip=all)
The extension to the warning is due to lingering Santa Ana Winds in the Santa Susana Mountains and L.A. County Mountains. These winds should start to let up in the afternoon.
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Here's a closer look at the wind gusts expected Thursday morning:
![](https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2025/01/windy5_01a6fa.png?resize=218%2C123&quality=85&strip=all)
All areas will see an increase in the onshore breeze (wind coming from the ocean — the opposite of a Santa Ana Wind) heading into the rest of the week, pushing humidity higher.
The National Weather Service has more details on the extended forecast:
While winds have peaked and will continue to lower into this evening, dry conditions and locally gusty winds will linger into Thursday -especially in some mountains. Red Flag Warnings expire at 6pm today for most areas, except those windiest mountains which go thru Thu 3pm #cawx pic.twitter.com/EQG7g7TKLm
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 15, 2025
Good news: We are expecting a much-needed break from the fire weather concerns to close this week. Bad News: Next week is a concern. While confident that we will NOT see a repeat of last week, dangerous fire weather conditions are expected. #cawx #PalisadesFire #EatonFire pic.twitter.com/zhXmHUWtgp
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 15, 2025
As the fight against the Los Angeles wildfires continues without visible smoke or flames, people may be wondering why the wildfires aren't being called contained.
The two massive fires in Los Angeles County were each less than 50% contained as of Wednesday evening: The Palisades Fire was at 19% while the Eaton Fire was at 45%, according to Cal Fire.
Containment refers to the extent of the control line perimeter around the fire — the control line is a barrier, like a trench or area cleared from brush.
But containment does not refer to how much of the fire is out.
The Eaton fire, for example grew by 10,000 acres on its first day, then another 4,000 the next day, but effectively stopped growing after that. In the days since, firefighters began the work to contain the wildfire, reaching 45% by Wednesday.
Why is it important for the fire to be contained? If it's not, and there are smoldering hot spots, a wind event could re-ignite the fire, causing it to spread more through areas where the fire isn't contained.
That said, firefighters battling the Eaton Fire said Wednesday that they believe it won't grow any further, thanks to the intense effort from firefighters and the winds letting up.