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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Oxnard, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Oxnard responded to 666 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $7.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2021 Ventura County 202,279 residents 0 reporting departments 4,448 5-yr
Total incidents
666
-24.8% vs 2024
Building fires
62
Residential 66% Other 34%
Property loss
$8.8M
$8.4M structure · $428K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 1
0 civilian deaths · 1 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.

666
Total Incidents
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 125 18.8%
Building fires 62 9.3%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 51 7.7%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 42 6.3%
Passenger vehicle fire 37 5.6%
All other categories 349 52.4%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 149
Feb 56
Mar 63
Apr 63
May 74
Jun 4
Jul 4
Aug 56
Sep 49
Oct 4
Nov 64
Dec 80
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Oxnard

4,448 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $39.0M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 996 —
2022 922 -7.4%
2023 978 +6.1%
2024 886 -9.4%
2025 666 -24.8%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 62 building fires Oxnard departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
41%
46
Cause undetermined
12%
13
Intentional / arson
10%
11
Equipment / heat source failure
10%
11
Under investigation
26%
29
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
1
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Oxnard?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 697 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 Undetermined 155 22.2%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 114 16.4%
3 Outside area, other 47 6.7%
4 Cooking area, kitchen 37 5.3%
5 Other 28 4.0%
6 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 27 3.9%
7 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 24 3.4%
8 Vehicle area, other 22 3.2%
9 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 21 3.0%
10 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 20 2.9%
11 All other areas 202 29.0%
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 Oxnard mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 390 56.0%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 56 8.0%
3 Arcing 52 7.5%
4 Heat source: other 46 6.6%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 20 2.9%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 20 2.9%
7 Hot or smoldering object, other 18 2.6%
8 Cigarette lighter 14 2.0%
9 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 14 2.0%
10 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 9 1.3%
11 All other sources 58 8.3%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $8.0M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oxnard departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $7,000,000 Building fires Catastrophic Investigated
2 $300,000 Building fires Major Investigated
3 $200,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Oxnard compares

Oxnard vs California vs the nation

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

3.29
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Oxnard
3.29
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.31
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Oxnard
0.31
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Oxnard
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5b Who gets hurt

Casualty demographics in Oxnard

16 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.

AgeCount 
0-9 0
10-19 0
20-29 3
30-39 6
40-49 3
50-59 2
60-69 2
70-79 0
80+ 0
Civilian vs firefighter
Civilian 12 FF 4
Gender
M 15 F 1 Unk 0
Severity (1=minor → 5=fatal)
6
1
4
2
0
3
3
4
3
5
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Oxnard

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,182,831 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 281,893 17.3 mi
2006 Debris and open burning 162,702 38.2 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 32.1 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 27.7 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 63,720 31.4 mi
2007 Power generation/transmission/distribution 45,300 37.9 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 46.9 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 18.1 mi
2016 Power generation/transmission/distribution 32,606 43.0 mi
2013 Power generation/transmission/distribution 30,274 49.6 mi
2006 Misuse of fire by a minor 30,000 18.4 mi
2005 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 24,970 33.2 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Oxnard do fires concentrate?

Top 9 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 93030 1,522
2 93033 1,460
3 93036 818
4 93035 508
5 93003 76
6 93041 61
7 92536 1
8 93004 1
9 93060 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Oxnard

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