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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Solana Beach, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Solana Beach responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2025 San Diego County 12,946 residents 0 reporting departments 156 5-yr
Total incidents
40
+73.9% vs 2024
Building fires
7
Residential 57% Other 43%
Property loss
$589K
$547K structure · $42K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.

40
Total Incidents
Fire, other 7 17.5%
Building fires 7 17.5%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 7 17.5%
Outside rubbish fire, other 4 10.0%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 3 7.5%
All other categories 12 30.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 8
Feb 1
Mar 1
Apr 1
May 2
Jun 3
Jul 1
Aug 6
Sep 1
Oct 6
Nov 5
Dec 5
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Solana Beach

156 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $4.3M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 39 —
2022 25 -35.9%
2023 29 +16.0%
2024 23 -20.7%
2025 40 +73.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 7 building fires Solana Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
40%
4
Cause undetermined
10%
1
Intentional / arson
10%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
30%
3
Under investigation
10%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Solana Beach?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 Outside area, other 9 21.4%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 8 19.0%
3 Cooking area, kitchen 7 16.7%
4 Other 6 14.3%
5 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 3 7.1%
6 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 2 4.8%
7 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 2 4.8%
8 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 1 2.4%
9 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 1 2.4%
10 Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room 1 2.4%
11 All other areas 2 4.8%
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 Solana Beach mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 14 33.3%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 5 11.9%
3 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 5 11.9%
4 Hot or smoldering object, other 5 11.9%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 4 9.5%
6 Heat source: other 2 4.8%
7 Arcing 2 4.8%
8 Cigarette lighter 2 4.8%
9 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 2 4.8%
10 Cigarette 1 2.4%
04 The biggest fires

5 fires · $547K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Solana Beach departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $500,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $20,000 Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant Investigated
3 $20,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $5,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $1,500 Fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Solana Beach compares

Solana Beach vs California vs the nation

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

3.09
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Solana Beach
3.09
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.54
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Solana Beach
0.54
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Solana Beach
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Solana Beach

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,060,941 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2003 Recreation and ceremony 280,059 30.7 mi
2007 Power generation/transmission/distribution 197,990 32.1 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 90,440 47.6 mi
2002 Equipment and vehicle use 61,690 40.3 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 56,427 25.2 mi
2007 Other causes 49,390 29.8 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 47,921 41.0 mi
1993 Power generation/transmission/distribution 24,387 49.6 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 23,025 49.5 mi
1993 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 21,384 35.6 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 21,004 30.4 mi
1993 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 20,768 20.0 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Solana Beach 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 92075 124
2 92014 27
3 92123 5
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Solana Beach

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Solana Beach. 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.