In 2025, fire departments serving Santa Clara responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
87 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $220K cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 22 | +37.5% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -13.6% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -5.3% |
For the 0 building fires Santa Clara departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | Undetermined | 7 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 11.5% |
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 Santa Clara mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 38.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Santa Clara departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Santa Clara sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 904,644 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Natural | 234,000 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 88,835 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 77,000 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 65,000 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 37,600 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 34,941 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 32,000 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 29,000 | 40.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 29,000 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 27,600 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 25,950 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 25,000 | 36.5 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Santa Clara. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Santa Clara.
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.