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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Corte Madera, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Corte Madera responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2025 Marin County 10,155 residents 0 reporting departments 261 5-yr
Total incidents
66
+40.4% vs 2024
Building fires
2
Residential 50% Other 50%
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?

Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.

66
Total Incidents
Power line down 25 37.9%
Chemical hazard (no spill or leak) 11 16.7%
Hazardous condition, other 8 12.1%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 6 9.1%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 5 7.6%
All other categories 11 16.7%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 3
Feb 10
Mar 7
Apr 3
May 1
Jun 1
Jul 0
Aug 5
Sep 12
Oct 11
Nov 8
Dec 5
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Corte Madera

261 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $62K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 44 —
2022 60 +36.4%
2023 44 -26.7%
2024 47 +6.8%
2025 66 +40.4%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 2 building fires Corte Madera departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
33%
2
Cause undetermined
33%
2
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
17%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
17%
1
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Corte Madera?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 11 19.3%
2 Cooking area, kitchen 8 14.0%
3 Other 5 8.8%
4 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 5 8.8%
5 Undetermined 4 7.0%
6 Office 2 3.5%
7 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 2 3.5%
8 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 2 3.5%
9 Equipment or service area, other 2 3.5%
10 Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace 2 3.5%
11 All other areas 14 24.6%
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 Corte Madera mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 23 40.4%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 8 14.0%
3 Heat source: other 5 8.8%
4 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 4 7.0%
5 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 3 5.3%
6 Cigarette 3 5.3%
7 Hot ember or ash 2 3.5%
8 Cigarette lighter 2 3.5%
9 Arcing 1 1.8%
10 Hot or smoldering object, other 1 1.8%
11 All other sources 5 8.8%
05 How Corte Madera compares

Corte Madera vs California vs the nation

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

6.5
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Corte Madera
6.5
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.2
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Corte Madera
0.2
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Corte Madera
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Corte Madera

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 678,169 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Natural 305,651 41.2 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 86,509 48.8 mi
2020 Equipment and vehicle use 67,484 43.6 mi
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 56,556 33.6 mi
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 51,624 35.5 mi
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,807 47.8 mi
1995 Recreation and ceremony 12,354 22.6 mi
2015 Equipment and vehicle use 8,051 45.7 mi
2014 Fireworks 6,488 46.3 mi
2000 Equipment and vehicle use 5,731 46.1 mi
2016 Equipment and vehicle use 5,731 42.5 mi
2020 Natural 5,000 43.8 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Corte Madera do fires concentrate?

Top 5 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 94925 256
2 94904 1
3 94924 1
4 94941 1
5 94976 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Corte Madera

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Corte Madera. 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.