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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Carpinteria, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Carpinteria responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2023 Santa Barbara County 13,187 residents 0 reporting departments 467 5-yr
Total incidents
83
-23.1% vs 2024
Building fires
6
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$1.2M
$856K structure · $353K 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 49% of all calls.

83
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 14 16.9%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 8 9.6%
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment 7 8.4%
Fire, other 6 7.2%
Building fires 6 7.2%
All other categories 42 50.6%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Nov peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 7
Feb 12
Mar 4
Apr 8
May 4
Jun 2
Jul 10
Aug 4
Sep 5
Oct 9
Nov 15
Dec 3
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Carpinteria

467 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.0M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 91 —
2022 75 -17.6%
2023 110 +46.7%
2024 108 -1.8%
2025 83 -23.1%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 6 building fires Carpinteria departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
48%
10
Cause undetermined
5%
1
Intentional / arson
33%
7
Equipment / heat source failure
5%
1
Under investigation
10%
2
Act of nature (lightning)
-1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Carpinteria?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 131 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 Undetermined 29 22.1%
2 Outside area, other 19 14.5%
3 Cooking area, kitchen 17 13.0%
4 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 13 9.9%
5 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 9 6.9%
6 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 7 5.3%
7 Other 6 4.6%
8 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 5 3.8%
9 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 4 3.1%
10 Storage area, other 3 2.3%
11 All other areas 19 14.5%
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 Carpinteria mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 45 34.4%
2 Heat source: other 13 9.9%
3 Hot or smoldering object, other 11 8.4%
4 Heat from powered equipment, other 9 6.9%
5 Arcing 7 5.3%
6 Hot ember or ash 7 5.3%
7 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 5 3.8%
8 Heat from undetermined smoking material 5 3.8%
9 Cigarette lighter 5 3.8%
10 Flame/torch used for lighting 5 3.8%
11 All other sources 19 14.5%
04 The biggest fires

7 fires · $856K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Carpinteria departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $700,000 Road freight or transport vehicle fire Major Investigated
2 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $2,500 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $2,500 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $500 Outside equipment fire Significant Investigated
6 $100 Cooking fire, confined to container Significant Investigated
7 $50 Fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Carpinteria compares

Carpinteria vs California vs the nation

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

6.29
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Carpinteria
6.29
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.45
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Carpinteria
0.45
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Carpinteria
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Carpinteria

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,418,785 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 281,893 25.8 mi
2007 Equipment and vehicle use 240,207 42.2 mi
2006 Debris and open burning 162,702 45.3 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 48.1 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 47.6 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 91,622 46.5 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 63,720 43.4 mi
2007 Power generation/transmission/distribution 45,300 47.9 mi
1993 Smoking 43,201 32.4 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 40.1 mi
2016 Power generation/transmission/distribution 32,606 19.7 mi
2006 Misuse of fire by a minor 30,000 35.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Carpinteria do fires concentrate?

Top 3 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 93013 458
2 93108 8
3 96023 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Carpinteria

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Carpinteria. 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.