Home› California› Ben Lomond
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Ben Lomond, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Ben Lomond responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B+ Peak yr 2023 Santa Cruz County 7,247 residents 0 reporting departments 301 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Ben Lomond's departments reported 31 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 60 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
31
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
1
Residential 0% Other 100%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.

31
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 7 22.6%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 5 16.1%
Power line down 5 16.1%
Fire, other 3 9.7%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 3 9.7%
All other categories 8 25.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 4
Feb 8
Mar 5
Apr 2
May 3
Jun 2
Jul 1
Aug 0
Sep 4
Oct 2
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Ben Lomond

301 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 56 —
2022* 32 —
2023 128 —
2024 54 -57.8%
2025* 31 —

* Well below Ben Lomond's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 1 building fires Ben Lomond departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
0%
0
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
100%
3
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Ben Lomond?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.

#Area of originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 4 21.1%
2 Vehicle area, other 3 15.8%
3 Structural area, other 2 10.5%
4 Wildland, woods 2 10.5%
5 Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape 1 5.3%
6 Function area, other 1 5.3%
7 Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory 1 5.3%
8 Cooking area, kitchen 1 5.3%
9 Heating room or area, water heater area 1 5.3%
10 Wall surface: exterior 1 5.3%
11 All other areas 2 10.5%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Ben Lomond mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 6 31.6%
2 Hot ember or ash 3 15.8%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 10.5%
4 Hot or smoldering object, other 2 10.5%
5 Heat source: other 1 5.3%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 1 5.3%
7 Arcing 1 5.3%
8 Cigarette lighter 1 5.3%
9 Candle 1 5.3%
10 Heat spread from another fire, other 1 5.3%
05 How Ben Lomond compares

Ben Lomond vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ben Lomond sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

4.28
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Ben Lomond
4.28
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.14
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Ben Lomond
0.14
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Ben Lomond
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Ben Lomond

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 854,719 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 396,624 37.3 mi
2016 Recreation and ceremony 132,127 43.9 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 86,509 14.3 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 48,088 43.4 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 33.6 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 49.7 mi
2003 Natural 30,170 32.9 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 48.7 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 7,817 7.4 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 6,905 49.1 mi
2005 Arson/incendiarism 6,744 47.8 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 5,513 31.9 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Ben Lomond do fires concentrate?

Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 95005 301
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Ben Lomond

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Ben Lomond. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.