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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Rancho Cordova, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Rancho Cordova responded to 477 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2023 Sacramento County 79,128 residents 0 reporting departments 2,250 5-yr
Total incidents
477
-2.9% vs 2024
Building fires
43
Residential 65% Other 35%
Property loss
$5.9M
$5.4M structure · $504K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 3
0 civilian deaths · 2 civ injuries · 1 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.

477
Total Incidents
Unauthorized burning 102 21.4%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 74 15.5%
Building fires 43 9.0%
Grass fire 41 8.6%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 39 8.2%
All other categories 178 37.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 79
Feb 30
Mar 32
Apr 38
May 45
Jun 41
Jul 45
Aug 44
Sep 29
Oct 41
Nov 35
Dec 18
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Rancho Cordova

2,250 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $13.6M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 324 —
2022 457 +41.0%
2023 501 +9.6%
2024 491 -2.0%
2025 477 -2.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 43 building fires Rancho Cordova departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
23%
60
Cause undetermined
50%
129
Intentional / arson
17%
45
Equipment / heat source failure
5%
12
Under investigation
5%
14
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Rancho Cordova?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1,255 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 634 50.5%
2 Outside area, other 144 11.5%
3 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 61 4.9%
4 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 58 4.6%
5 Other 51 4.1%
6 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 50 4.0%
7 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 32 2.5%
8 Wildland, woods 22 1.8%
9 Cooking area, kitchen 20 1.6%
10 Vehicle area, other 20 1.6%
11 All other areas 163 13.0%
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 Rancho Cordova mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 840 66.9%
2 Heat source: other 64 5.1%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 58 4.6%
4 Hot or smoldering object, other 47 3.7%
5 Cigarette lighter 31 2.5%
6 Arcing 27 2.2%
7 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 26 2.1%
8 Hot ember or ash 26 2.1%
9 Fireworks 23 1.8%
10 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 22 1.8%
11 All other sources 91 7.3%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $4.8M in losses

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

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $2,000,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $1,000,000 Building fires Major Investigated
3 $400,000 Building fires Major Investigated
4 $350,000 Building fires Major Investigated
5 $350,000 Building fires Major Investigated
6 $300,000 Building fires Major Investigated
7 $250,000 Building fires Major Investigated
8 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Rancho Cordova compares

Rancho Cordova vs California vs the nation

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

6.03
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Rancho Cordova
6.03
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.54
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Rancho Cordova
0.54
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Rancho Cordova
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5b Who gets hurt

Casualty demographics in Rancho Cordova

12 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 2
30-39 5
40-49 1
50-59 2
60-69 0
70-79 0
80+ 2
Civilian vs firefighter
Civilian 9 FF 3
Gender
M 6 F 6 Unk 0
Severity (1=minor → 5=fatal)
8
1
2
2
0
3
2
4
0
5
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Rancho Cordova

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 335,973 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2014 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 97,717 38.2 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 70,868 34.1 mi
2013 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 27,440 49.8 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 24,580 45.5 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 18,000 44.8 mi
2018 Equipment and vehicle use 11,789 39.7 mi
1996 Arson/incendiarism 9,820 8.3 mi
2006 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 8,422 42.6 mi
2015 Equipment and vehicle use 8,051 46.7 mi
2001 Equipment and vehicle use 6,800 39.2 mi
2014 Fireworks 6,488 46.2 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 6,400 4.0 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Rancho Cordova do fires concentrate?

Top 3 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 95670 1,663
2 95742 586
3 95655 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Rancho Cordova

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Rancho Cordova. 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.