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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in South El Monte, California

In 2025, fire departments serving South El Monte responded to 80 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2021 Los Angeles County 19,694 residents 0 reporting departments 443 5-yr
Total incidents
80
+1.3% vs 2024
Building fires
7
Residential 57% Other 43%
Property loss
$3.2M
$3.0M structure · $218K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Trash or rubbish fire, contained lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.

80
Total Incidents
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 17 21.2%
Power line down 8 10.0%
Building fires 7 8.8%
Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire 7 8.8%
Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other 6 7.5%
All other categories 35 43.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 7
Feb 7
Mar 6
Apr 8
May 8
Jun 7
Jul 8
Aug 5
Sep 3
Oct 11
Nov 3
Dec 7
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in South El Monte

443 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $7.8M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 112 —
2022 79 -29.5%
2023 93 +17.7%
2024 79 -15.1%
2025 80 +1.3%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

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

Unintentional
32%
7
Cause undetermined
14%
3
Intentional / arson
14%
3
Equipment / heat source failure
9%
2
Under investigation
27%
6
Act of nature (lightning)
4%
1
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in South El Monte?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 22 26.2%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 9 10.7%
3 Vehicle area, other 7 8.3%
4 Other 6 7.1%
5 Outside area, other 6 7.1%
6 Cooking area, kitchen 4 4.8%
7 Storage area, other 4 4.8%
8 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 3 3.6%
9 Entrance way, lobby 2 2.4%
10 Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay 2 2.4%
11 All other areas 19 22.6%
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 South El Monte mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 34 40.5%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 14 16.7%
3 Heat source: other 13 15.5%
4 Arcing 11 13.1%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 5 6.0%
6 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 2 2.4%
7 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 1 1.2%
8 Heat, spark from friction 1 1.2%
9 Incendiary device 1 1.2%
10 Sunlight 1 1.2%
11 All other sources 1 1.2%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $3.0M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by South El Monte departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $2,000,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $900,000 Building fires Major Investigated
3 $30,000 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant Investigated
4 $20,000 Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant Investigated
5 $10,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
6 $7,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $5,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $3,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How South El Monte compares

South El Monte vs California vs the nation

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

4.06
Incidents per 1,000 residents
South El Monte
4.06
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.36
Building fires per 1,000 residents
South El Monte
0.36
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
South El Monte
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of South El Monte

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,146,684 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2009 Arson/incendiarism 160,371 15.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 14.7 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 42.3 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 39.5 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 91,281 45.3 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 33.5 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 33.2 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 36.7 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 47.6 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 19.5 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 36.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 31,089 49.2 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in South El Monte do fires concentrate?

Top 1 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 91733 443
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to South El Monte

Six California cities with population within ±25% of South El Monte. 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.