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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Riverbank, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Riverbank responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2024 Stanislaus County 24,803 residents 0 reporting departments 535 5-yr
Total incidents
70
-48.9% vs 2024
Building fires
12
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$241K
$137K structure · $104K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.

70
Total Incidents
Building fires 12 17.1%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 10 14.3%
Grass fire 6 8.6%
Natural vegetation fire, other 4 5.7%
Fire, other 3 4.3%
All other categories 35 50.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 10
Feb 5
Mar 9
Apr 4
May 11
Jun 16
Jul 14
Aug 1
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Riverbank

535 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $6.8M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 107 —
2022 132 +23.4%
2023 89 -32.6%
2024 137 +53.9%
2025 70 -48.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 12 building fires Riverbank departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
44%
7
Cause undetermined
25%
4
Intentional / arson
12%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
12%
2
Under investigation
6%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Riverbank?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 92 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 28 30.4%
2 Other 7 7.6%
3 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 7 7.6%
4 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 6 6.5%
5 Cooking area, kitchen 5 5.4%
6 Equipment or service area, other 4 4.3%
7 Outside area, other 4 4.3%
8 Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape 3 3.3%
9 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 3 3.3%
10 Wall surface: exterior 3 3.3%
11 All other areas 22 23.9%
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 Riverbank mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 51 55.4%
2 Heat source: other 14 15.2%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 7 7.6%
4 Arcing 6 6.5%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 2 2.2%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 2 2.2%
7 Incendiary device 2 2.2%
8 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 2 2.2%
9 Hot or smoldering object, other 1 1.1%
10 Heat, spark from friction 1 1.1%
11 All other sources 4 4.3%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $127K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Riverbank departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 92% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $40,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $25,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $20,000 Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence Significant Investigated
4 $15,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $10,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $7,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
7 $5,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
8 $5,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Riverbank compares

Riverbank vs California vs the nation

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

2.82
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Riverbank
2.82
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.48
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Riverbank
0.48
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Riverbank
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Riverbank

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,084,100 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 396,624 40.1 mi
2013 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 255,858 47.9 mi
2017 Firearms and explosives use 81,826 40.5 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 70,868 44.7 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 47.1 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 29.1 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 25,000 28.8 mi
1996 Natural 22,080 45.8 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 18,000 35.6 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 14,280 42.3 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,300 9.0 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 33.2 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Riverbank do fires concentrate?

Top 10 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 95367 512
2 95357 8
3 95356 5
4 95355 2
5 96367 2
6 95267 1
7 95307 1
8 95320 1
9 95354 1
10 95368 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Riverbank

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