Home› California› Lakewood
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Lakewood, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Lakewood responded to 125 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2021 Los Angeles County 81,499 residents 0 reporting departments 802 5-yr
Total incidents
125
-21.9% vs 2024
Building fires
11
Residential 64% Other 36%
Property loss
$375K
$326K structure · $49K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.

125
Total Incidents
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 17 13.6%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 15 12.0%
Building fires 11 8.8%
Cooking fire, confined to container 10 8.0%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 10 8.0%
All other categories 62 49.6%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 5
Feb 9
Mar 9
Apr 8
May 11
Jun 6
Jul 12
Aug 19
Sep 10
Oct 18
Nov 8
Dec 10
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Lakewood

802 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $5.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 178 —
2022 168 -5.6%
2023 171 +1.8%
2024 160 -6.4%
2025 125 -21.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

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

Unintentional
70%
19
Cause undetermined
11%
3
Intentional / arson
7%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
7%
2
Under investigation
4%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Lakewood?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 147 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 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 22 15.0%
2 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 14 9.5%
3 Other 13 8.8%
4 Undetermined 10 6.8%
5 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 8 5.4%
6 Cooking area, kitchen 8 5.4%
7 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 7 4.8%
8 Vehicle area, other 7 4.8%
9 Outside area, other 7 4.8%
10 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 6 4.1%
11 All other areas 45 30.6%
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 Lakewood mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Heat from powered equipment, other 24 16.3%
2 Arcing 22 15.0%
3 Heat source: other 16 10.9%
4 Hot or smoldering object, other 16 10.9%
5 Undetermined 16 10.9%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 11 7.5%
7 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 6 4.1%
8 Hot ember or ash 6 4.1%
9 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 6 4.1%
10 Explosive, fireworks, other 3 2.0%
11 All other sources 21 14.3%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $287K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lakewood departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 88% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $19,000 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant Investigated
5 $10,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $10,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $10,000 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant Investigated
8 $8,000 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Lakewood compares

Lakewood vs California vs the nation

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

1.53
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Lakewood
1.53
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.13
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Lakewood
0.13
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Lakewood
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Lakewood

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,033,336 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2009 Arson/incendiarism 160,371 27.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 29.2 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 48.5 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 42.8 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 42.9 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 43.3 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 48.4 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 48.1 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 32.7 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 47.4 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 22.1 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 28,476 27.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Lakewood 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 90712 259
2 90715 240
3 90713 229
4 90808 37
5 90805 16
6 90703 9
7 90630 4
8 90716 2
9 90242 1
10 90714 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Lakewood

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