The Alexander Mountain Fire continues to grow in Colorado. At the time of writing this, the fire has grown to 1,820 and has zero containment. Make sure to follow our station app for regular updates.

The most up-to-date Alexander Mountain Fire information we have can be found here.

The containment has been listed at zero percent for the first 24 hours of the Alexander Mountain Fire. Many of us have been wondering what that means. Many of us think we know what it means, but containment might have a different definition than you thought.

Containment Explained in Colorado

Alexander Mountain Fire
Bill Kapperman
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Many people mistakenly believe that the containment percentage indicates the percentage of the fire that is extinguished.

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The containment percentage shows how much of the fire's edge is blocked by barriers that prevent the fire from growing and spreading. RedZone describes it by saying that containment is progress and not safety.

These barriers can be made in a lot of different ways. Sometimes the barriers can be of the natural area, or the barriers can be man-made.

Different Containment Barriers in Colorado

Natural barriers are when there is a lake, river, or road that will make it impossible for the fire to spread.

Man-made barriers can include firelines. A method of creating a fireline is when vegetation is removed so the fire can not continue to spread. This can either be done with digging equipment or by doing controlled burns.

A fire that is labeled at 100 percent does not mean that the fire is entirely out. It would simply mean that the fire can not spread more.

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