In 2025, fire departments serving Santa Clara responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
155 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $119K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -10.0% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -7.4% | |
| 2024 | 37 | +48.0% | |
| 2025 | 36 | -2.7% |
For the 7 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 56 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 19.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 25.0% |
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 | 11 | 19.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Match | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 19.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Santa Clara departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $300 | Incinerator overload or malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Santa Clara sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 889,246 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Natural | 238,058 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 65,480 | 14.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 56,003 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 50,737 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 44,707 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 41,451 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 38,628 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 35,639 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 34,200 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 29,933 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 28,177 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 28,141 | 41.6 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 Utah cities with population within ±25% of Santa Clara. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.