In 2025, fire departments serving Monterey responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
425 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 102 | +72.9% | |
| 2023 | 116 | +13.7% | |
| 2024 | 88 | -24.1% | |
| 2025 | 60 | -31.8% |
For the 7 building fires Monterey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 191 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 origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 37 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 24 | 12.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 26.2% |
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 Monterey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 76 | 39.8% | |
| 2 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 20 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 14.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Monterey departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monterey sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 44,222 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,646 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,450 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,398 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,925 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,784 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,480 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,214 | 10.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,080 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,018 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,610 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,536 | 41.2 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Tennessee cities with population within ±25% of Monterey. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Monterey.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
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.