What “active” vs “contained” means
When FireRiskHere tells you how many active fires are within 50 miles, that count includes two kinds of fires: ones that are still actively burning, and ones that have been contained but not yet declared out. This guide explains the difference and why FireRiskHere counts both.
What “active” means
An active wildfire is one that is currently burning and either spreading or being suppressed. The perimeter is still moving, crews are working on it, and the situation can change quickly.
On FireRiskHere, a fire shows up as “Active” as long as the federal data hasn’t marked it as contained.
What “contained” means
A wildfire is “contained” when the line around its perimeter has been completed and the fire is no longer expected to grow beyond it. Contained does not mean the fire is out. There can still be hot spots, smoldering material, and crews working inside the perimeter for days or weeks after containment is declared. In dry, windy conditions, a contained fire can occasionally jump its perimeter — if that happens and the federal data re-flags it, FireRiskHere shows it as Active again.
On FireRiskHere, a fire shows up as “Contained” from the moment the federal data marks it contained until it’s declared out.
The “Current” umbrella
In the federal incident system, wildfires move through a lifecycle: starting as a new incident, becoming active, reaching containment, and eventually being declared out. The system groups all of these stages under one heading: Current. Current includes every wildfire from the moment it starts until it’s officially declared out. FireRiskHere reads only the Current feed.
Once a fire is declared out, it falls out of the Current feed and FireRiskHere stops showing it. A historical archive of finished fires isn’t part of the site yet — see the coverage page for what is and isn’t included.
Two reasons FireRiskHere counts both
- Containment doesn’t mean safety. A 95%-contained fire near a town is still a concern — the perimeter can fail, and smoke from a contained fire still affects air quality.
- Federal counts use the same definition. Official agencies typically report “currently active” fire totals using the same Current lifecycle, so FireRiskHere’s count matches theirs.
Even though both count toward the total, each fire is tagged with its status — Active or Contained — on the front page list and the national map, so the difference is always visible to a reader who wants it.
On the map and the list
Each fire on the map has a marker; each fire in the list has a status badge — “Active” or “Contained”. On the national map, the status filter lets you switch between “Active only” and “Active + Contained”. The /map default is “Active only”; the front page shows both without a filter.
For the formal definitions and the source service, see the methodology page.