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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Salida, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Salida responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2023 Stanislaus County 14,849 residents 0 reporting departments 198 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Salida's departments reported 21 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 40 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
21
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
3
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$201K
$156K structure · $45K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.

21
Total Incidents
Grass fire 5 23.8%
Building fires 3 14.3%
Passenger vehicle fire 2 9.5%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 2 9.5%
Cooking fire, confined to container 1 4.8%
All other categories 8 38.1%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 2
Feb 0
Mar 2
Apr 0
May 6
Jun 7
Jul 4
Aug 0
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Salida

198 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021* 16 —
2022* 19 —
2023 79 —
2024 63 -20.3%
2025* 21 —

* Well below Salida'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 3 building fires Salida departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
50%
2
Cause undetermined
25%
1
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
25%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Salida?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 23 48.9%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 12 25.5%
3 Other 2 4.3%
4 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 2 4.3%
5 Outside area, other 2 4.3%
6 Assembly area - less than 100 persons 1 2.1%
7 Function area, other 1 2.1%
8 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 1 2.1%
9 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 1 2.1%
10 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 1 2.1%
11 All other areas 1 2.1%
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 Salida mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 36 76.6%
2 Heat source: other 4 8.5%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 4 8.5%
4 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 1 2.1%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 1 2.1%
6 Heat, spark from friction 1 2.1%
04 The biggest fires

4 fires · $156K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Salida departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $5,000 Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire Significant Investigated
3 $1,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $1 Special outside fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Salida compares

Salida vs California vs the nation

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

1.41
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Salida
1.41
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.2
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Salida
0.2
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Salida
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Salida

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 810,687 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 33.0 mi
2017 Firearms and explosives use 81,826 47.9 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 70,868 48.7 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 41.4 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 23.9 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 25,000 33.2 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 18,000 41.1 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 14,280 49.0 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,300 8.1 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 25.4 mi
2018 Equipment and vehicle use 11,789 24.9 mi
2001 Arson/incendiarism 11,185 45.6 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Salida 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 95356 117
2 95368 80
3 95358 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Salida

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