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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Cupertino, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Cupertino responded to 109 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.9M building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2023 Santa Clara County 59,763 residents 0 reporting departments 596 5-yr
Total incidents
109
-17.4% vs 2024
Building fires
11
Residential 64% Other 36%
Property loss
$8.5M
$6.3M structure · $2.2M 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 66% of all calls.

109
Total Incidents
Power line down 21 19.3%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 19 17.4%
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment 13 11.9%
Building fires 11 10.1%
Passenger vehicle fire 8 7.3%
All other categories 37 33.9%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 8
Feb 6
Mar 10
Apr 4
May 15
Jun 11
Jul 10
Aug 8
Sep 8
Oct 7
Nov 7
Dec 15
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Cupertino

596 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $12.2M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 100 —
2022 115 +15.0%
2023 140 +21.7%
2024 132 -5.7%
2025 109 -17.4%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 11 building fires Cupertino departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
58%
15
Cause undetermined
8%
2
Intentional / arson
8%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
19%
5
Under investigation
4%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
3%
1
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Cupertino?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 143 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 Cooking area, kitchen 28 19.6%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 23 16.1%
3 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 12 8.4%
4 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 7 4.9%
5 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 6 4.2%
6 Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles 6 4.2%
7 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 5 3.5%
8 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 4 2.8%
9 Exterior, exposed surface 4 2.8%
10 Outside area, other 4 2.8%
11 All other areas 44 30.8%
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 Cupertino mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 44 30.8%
2 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 29 20.3%
3 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 12 8.4%
4 Arcing 10 7.0%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 8 5.6%
6 Hot ember or ash 8 5.6%
7 Heat from powered equipment, other 6 4.2%
8 Hot or smoldering object, other 6 4.2%
9 Cigarette lighter 4 2.8%
10 Cigarette 3 2.1%
11 All other sources 13 9.1%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $6.1M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cupertino departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $2,887,105 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $1,400,000 Building fires Major Investigated
3 $750,000 Building fires Major Investigated
4 $450,000 Building fires Major Investigated
5 $200,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $115,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
8 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Cupertino compares

Cupertino vs California vs the nation

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

1.82
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Cupertino
1.82
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.18
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Cupertino
0.18
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Cupertino
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Cupertino

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 680,488 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 27.3 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 86,509 10.2 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 30.9 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 42.4 mi
2003 Natural 30,170 37.2 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 35.4 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 7,817 14.1 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 6,804 42.0 mi
2005 Arson/incendiarism 6,744 33.4 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 5,513 35.6 mi
2003 Natural 5,018 35.7 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 4,474 18.7 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Cupertino 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 95014 594
2 95015 1
3 95051 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Cupertino

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