Dome Fire Reaches 6,632 Acres in Yosemite, 40% Contained as of Oct. 3
The Dome Fire has burned 6,632 acres in Yosemite National Park and is 40% contained as of Oct. 3, with 765 personnel assigned; Glacier Point Road stays closed.
CA
In 2025, fire departments serving Chowchilla responded to 398 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $118K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,778 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $4.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 308 | — | |
| 2022 | 374 | +21.4% | |
| 2023 | 308 | -17.6% | |
| 2024 | 390 | +26.6% | |
| 2025 | 398 | +2.1% |
For the 34 building fires Chowchilla departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 647 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 origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 187 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 69 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 61 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 58 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 50 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 36 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 25 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 18 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 15 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 15 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 113 | 17.5% |
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 Chowchilla mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 458 | 70.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 41 | 6.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 36 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 14 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 1.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 30 | 4.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chowchilla departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 77% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $118,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $90,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $65,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $60,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $52,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chowchilla sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 404,996 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 96,953 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Firearms and explosives use | 81,826 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 34,091 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 25,000 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 18,340 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 16,820 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 13,349 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 12,407 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 11,185 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,600 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 8,400 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 8,000 | 49.2 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six California cities with population within ±25% of Chowchilla. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
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.