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By Peter Aitken
Politics Weekend Editor
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California fire authorities have confirmed to Newsweek on Saturday morning that the Lidia fire has been fully contained just days after it started, with the Archer fire and Kenneth fire reportedly contained as of Sunday morning.
Newsweek reached out to California Governor Gavin Newsom's Office of Emergency Services for comment by email on Saturday morning.
Why It Matters
Strong Santa Ana winds that hit Southern California earlier this week may have helped spread already strong fires. Six wildfires spread across the county by Friday, with the biggest ones having very slight containment as authorities focus on evacuating people.
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However, by Saturday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire) authorities have reported that much of the smaller fires are largely contained, with at least two fully contained while two others are near full containment.
What To Know
CAL Fire's website, which actively updates the amount of acres destroyed by a fire as well as how much of the fire is contained, completely removed the Lidia fire from its active incidents tracker. On the page dedicated to the Lidia fire, CAL Fire lists it as "active," but 100 percent contained.
Christine McMorrow, deputy director of strategic communications for CAL Fire, confirmed to Newsweek on Saturday in an email that the fire is now considered fully contained.
"Yes, the Lidia fire is contained," she said. "Our Incident Management Teams and other support personnel are working hard to get the fires under control as quickly as possible."
Shortly after confirming the Lidia fire was contained, the CAL Fire website updated to say the Archer fire, which was the smallest fire, is now also 100 percent contained less than 24 hours after it started.
By Sunday morning, CAL Fire had designated that the Kenneth fire, which had burned up just over 1000 acres, has been fully contained as well.
Fire containment does not mean that the fire is dead, but merely that the authorities believe the fire will spread no further, which will allow them to shift focus to fully fighting and killing the blaze or containing the other wildfires.
The Lidia fire was the second-smallest fire among the half-dozen wildfires that have been burning around Los Angeles, consuming around 395 acres over the past three days. Only the Archer fire, which started on Friday afternoon, is smaller, having burned up around 19 acres.
By comparison, the next biggest fire, the Hurst fire, has burned nearly 800 acres and is 89 percent contained as of Saturday morning local time.
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What People Are Saying
Spectrum News meteorologist Zach Covey wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday morning: "This morning, CalFire officially brought the Lidia Fire to 100% containment. But a lot of work remains across the region as the #Eaton and #Palisades fires continue to burn largely uncontained. Fire conditions set to get worse once again this upcoming week."
What Happens Next
Firefighters will now focus on extinguishing the contained fires and pivot containment resources towards fully encircling the remaining wildfires that continue burning around Los Angeles, especially as officials and authorities have voiced concerns about shifting weather patterns potentially exacerbating the crisis again.
The Palisades fire, which is the largest of the fires currently burning, has consumed 23,707 acres and is only 11 percent contained as of Saturday morning. The Eaton fire, the second largest fire burning in California right now, has consumed 14,117 acres and is only 27 percent contained.
Those two fires rank as the third-most and fourth-most destructive fires in California state history.
Update, 1/11/25 at 12:27 p.m. ET: This file has been updated to note that the Archer fire is now considered 100 percent contained.
Update, 1/12/25 at 12:12 p.m. ET: This file has been updated to note that the Kenneth fire is now considered 100 percent contained.
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