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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Manhattan Beach, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Manhattan Beach responded to 278 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2024 Los Angeles County 35,123 residents 0 reporting departments 1,044 5-yr
Total incidents
278
-13.9% vs 2024
Building fires
15
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$595K
$501K structure · $94K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.

278
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 124 44.6%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 58 20.9%
Building fires 15 5.4%
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment 12 4.3%
Fire, other 9 3.2%
All other categories 60 21.6%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 29
Feb 32
Mar 37
Apr 25
May 33
Jun 27
Jul 25
Aug 25
Sep 21
Oct 24
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Manhattan Beach

1,044 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.6M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 144 —
2022* 123 —
2023 176 —
2024 323 +83.5%
2025 278 -13.9%

* Well below Manhattan Beach's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 15 building fires Manhattan Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
36%
8
Cause undetermined
9%
2
Intentional / arson
27%
6
Equipment / heat source failure
27%
6
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Manhattan Beach?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 175 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 50 28.6%
2 Cooking area, kitchen 17 9.7%
3 Other 12 6.9%
4 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 10 5.7%
5 Undetermined 8 4.6%
6 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 7 4.0%
7 Vehicle area, other 7 4.0%
8 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 6 3.4%
9 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 4 2.3%
10 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 4 2.3%
11 All other areas 50 28.6%
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 Manhattan Beach mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 68 38.9%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 14 8.0%
3 Arcing 14 8.0%
4 Cigarette lighter 10 5.7%
5 Heat source: other 9 5.1%
6 Hot ember or ash 9 5.1%
7 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 6 3.4%
8 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 6 3.4%
9 Cigarette 6 3.4%
10 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 6 3.4%
11 All other sources 27 15.4%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $465K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Manhattan Beach departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $200,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $30,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $30,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
5 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $25,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Manhattan Beach compares

Manhattan Beach vs California vs the nation

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

7.92
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Manhattan Beach
7.92
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.43
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Manhattan Beach
0.43
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Manhattan Beach
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Manhattan Beach

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,055,609 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 27.1 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 35.2 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 37.6 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 29.8 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 63,720 46.2 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 37.2 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 44.0 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 33.1 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 42.1 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 37.8 mi
2013 Power generation/transmission/distribution 30,274 48.7 mi
2006 Misuse of fire by a minor 30,000 41.9 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Manhattan Beach do fires concentrate?

Top 6 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 90266 1,039
2 90245 1
3 90250 1
4 90254 1
5 90267 1
6 90278 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Manhattan Beach

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Manhattan Beach. 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.