I’d like to talk about the term “containment” as it relates to forest fires. Is it appropriate to claim 5% containment on a forest fire? Ah..no. Could you say that the fire is 5% “under control?” Ah..no.
What does the word “containment” actually mean?
Containment to me means positive control. If you have 85% containment then that tells me that you have 85% control of the situation. If you were to tell me that you have 5% containment then I would have to question your use of the term “containment.” In other words, you have no containment to speak of. You have 5% of the fire contained but what about the other 95% that isn’t contained.
Containment used in this context seems and feels wrong to me.
There has to be another word.
