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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Los Alamitos, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Los Alamitos responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2022 Orange County 11,728 residents 0 reporting departments 190 5-yr
Total incidents
33
-13.2% vs 2024
Building fires
2
Residential 50% Other 50%
Property loss
$25K
$25K 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 55% of all calls.

33
Total Incidents
Power line down 5 15.2%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 4 12.1%
Passenger vehicle fire 3 9.1%
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment 3 9.1%
Unauthorized burning 3 9.1%
All other categories 15 45.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

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

Year over year in Los Alamitos

190 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.3M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 44 —
2022 46 +4.5%
2023 29 -37.0%
2024 38 +31.0%
2025 33 -13.2%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

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

Unintentional
27%
3
Cause undetermined
45%
5
Intentional / arson
18%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
9%
1
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Los Alamitos?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 Other 14 18.4%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 11 14.5%
3 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 7 9.2%
4 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 6 7.9%
5 Undetermined 6 7.9%
6 Outside area, other 5 6.6%
7 Cooking area, kitchen 3 3.9%
8 Vehicle area, other 3 3.9%
9 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 2 2.6%
10 Roof surface: exterior 2 2.6%
11 All other areas 17 22.4%
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 Los Alamitos mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 36 47.4%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 7 9.2%
3 Hot ember or ash 5 6.6%
4 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 4 5.3%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 4 5.3%
6 Cigarette lighter 4 5.3%
7 Heat source: other 3 3.9%
8 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 3 3.9%
9 Arcing 3 3.9%
10 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 2 2.6%
11 All other sources 5 6.6%
04 The biggest fires

1 fires · $25K in losses

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

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $25,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Los Alamitos compares

Los Alamitos vs California vs the nation

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

2.81
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Los Alamitos
2.81
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.17
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Los Alamitos
0.17
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Los Alamitos
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Los Alamitos

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 883,550 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 31.7 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 31.7 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 47.8 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 41.9 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 47.9 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 33.7 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 46.9 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 19.1 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 28,476 22.8 mi
2005 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 24,970 46.1 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 23,025 32.4 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 22,000 42.9 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Los Alamitos 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 90720 182
2 90630 3
3 90815 3
4 90807 1
5 90808 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Los Alamitos

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Los Alamitos. 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.