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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Ceres, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Ceres responded to 218 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $175K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2022 Stanislaus County 49,183 residents 0 reporting departments 1,528 5-yr
Total incidents
218
-35.1% vs 2024
Building fires
28
Residential 64% Other 36%
Property loss
$1.0M
$836K structure · $186K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 1
0 civilian deaths · 1 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 46% of all calls.

218
Total Incidents
Building fires 28 12.8%
Natural vegetation fire, other 23 10.6%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 21 9.6%
Unauthorized burning 17 7.8%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 12 5.5%
All other categories 117 53.7%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 28
Feb 19
Mar 25
Apr 30
May 35
Jun 30
Jul 43
Aug 8
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Ceres

1,528 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $9.0M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 260 —
2022 371 +42.7%
2023 343 -7.5%
2024 336 -2.0%
2025 218 -35.1%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 28 building fires Ceres departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
36%
15
Cause undetermined
36%
15
Intentional / arson
5%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
14%
6
Under investigation
10%
4
Act of nature (lightning)
-1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Ceres?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 269 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 108 40.1%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 34 12.6%
3 Cooking area, kitchen 20 7.4%
4 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 11 4.1%
5 Outside area, other 10 3.7%
6 Other 9 3.3%
7 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 9 3.3%
8 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 7 2.6%
9 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 7 2.6%
10 Storage area, other 5 1.9%
11 All other areas 49 18.2%
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 Ceres mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 189 70.3%
2 Heat source: other 25 9.3%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 14 5.2%
4 Arcing 12 4.5%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 7 2.6%
6 Hot or smoldering object, other 5 1.9%
7 Hot ember or ash 3 1.1%
8 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 2 0.7%
9 Molten, hot material 2 0.7%
10 Incendiary device 2 0.7%
11 All other sources 8 3.0%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $670K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ceres departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 80% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $175,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $150,000 Fire, other Significant Investigated
3 $100,000 Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $75,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $50,000 Special outside fire, other Significant Investigated
8 $20,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Ceres compares

Ceres vs California vs the nation

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

4.43
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Ceres
4.43
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.57
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Ceres
0.57
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Ceres
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Ceres

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 779,314 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 35.2 mi
2017 Firearms and explosives use 81,826 40.9 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 39.9 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 22.1 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 25,000 23.1 mi
1996 Natural 22,080 49.9 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 18,000 44.1 mi
1996 Equipment and vehicle use 16,820 48.5 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 14,280 49.5 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,300 2.8 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 31.6 mi
2018 Equipment and vehicle use 11,789 31.6 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Ceres do fires concentrate?

Top 10 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 95307 1,306
2 95351 165
3 95358 30
4 95354 9
5 95357 6
6 95328 3
7 95350 2
8 95380 2
9 95207 1
10 95356 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Ceres

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