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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Copperopolis, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Copperopolis responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C+ Peak yr 2024 Calaveras County 3,819 residents 0 reporting departments 519 5-yr
Total incidents
103
-4.6% vs 2024
Building fires
1
Residential 0% Other 100%
Property loss
$2
$1 structure · $1 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.

103
Total Incidents
Grass fire 28 27.2%
Aircraft standby 26 25.2%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 6 5.8%
Hazardous condition, other 5 4.9%
Natural vegetation fire, other 4 3.9%
All other categories 34 33.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 3
Feb 5
Mar 2
Apr 6
May 8
Jun 18
Jul 9
Aug 12
Sep 19
Oct 11
Nov 7
Dec 3
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Copperopolis

519 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $291K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 107 —
2022 99 -7.5%
2023 102 +3.0%
2024 108 +5.9%
2025 103 -4.6%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

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

Unintentional
26%
7
Cause undetermined
4%
1
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
7%
2
Under investigation
48%
13
Act of nature (lightning)
15%
4
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Copperopolis?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 128 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 57 44.5%
2 Outside area, other 23 18.0%
3 Wildland, woods 12 9.4%
4 Vehicle area, other 11 8.6%
5 Cooking area, kitchen 4 3.1%
6 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 4 3.1%
7 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 4 3.1%
8 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 3 2.3%
9 Other 1 0.8%
10 Storage area, other 1 0.8%
11 All other areas 8 6.2%
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 Copperopolis mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 96 75.0%
2 Heat source: other 5 3.9%
3 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 5 3.9%
4 Lightning 3 2.3%
5 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 1.6%
6 Arcing 2 1.6%
7 Hot or smoldering object, other 2 1.6%
8 Hot ember or ash 2 1.6%
9 Cigarette 2 1.6%
10 Flying brand, ember, spark 2 1.6%
11 All other sources 7 5.5%
04 The biggest fires

1 fires · $1 in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Copperopolis departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $1 Grass fire Significant Investigated
05 How Copperopolis compares

Copperopolis vs California vs the nation

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

26.97
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Copperopolis
26.97
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.26
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Copperopolis
0.26
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Copperopolis
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Copperopolis

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 797,339 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2013 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 255,858 30.7 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,953 46.0 mi
2017 Firearms and explosives use 81,826 32.3 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 70,868 27.4 mi
2018 Natural 36,450 47.4 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 34,091 43.7 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 25,000 38.1 mi
1996 Natural 22,080 27.5 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 18,000 15.2 mi
2004 Equipment and vehicle use 16,823 45.9 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 14,280 19.5 mi
1998 Equipment and vehicle use 12,613 36.8 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Copperopolis do fires concentrate?

Top 4 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 95228 508
2 95222 6
3 95230 3
4 95252 2
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Copperopolis

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