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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in South Gate, California

In 2025, fire departments serving South Gate responded to 341 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $4.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2023 Los Angeles County 92,381 residents 0 reporting departments 1,698 5-yr
Total incidents
341
-2.3% vs 2024
Building fires
18
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$5.4M
$4.3M structure · $1.1M contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Outside rubbish fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.

341
Total Incidents
Outside rubbish fire, other 153 44.9%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 42 12.3%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 26 7.6%
Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire 24 7.0%
Building fires 18 5.3%
All other categories 78 22.9%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 28
Feb 26
Mar 36
Apr 22
May 22
Jun 29
Jul 25
Aug 35
Sep 24
Oct 45
Nov 16
Dec 33
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in South Gate

1,698 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $9.4M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 329 —
2022 307 -6.7%
2023 372 +21.2%
2024 349 -6.2%
2025 341 -2.3%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 18 building fires South Gate departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
51%
22
Cause undetermined
12%
5
Intentional / arson
9%
4
Equipment / heat source failure
12%
5
Under investigation
16%
7
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in South Gate?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 279 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 57 20.4%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 44 15.8%
3 Other 29 10.4%
4 Outside area, other 18 6.5%
5 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 14 5.0%
6 Cooking area, kitchen 13 4.7%
7 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 10 3.6%
8 Storage area, other 9 3.2%
9 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 8 2.9%
10 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 8 2.9%
11 All other areas 69 24.7%
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 Gate mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 71 25.4%
2 Heat source: other 52 18.6%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 45 16.1%
4 Arcing 36 12.9%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 16 5.7%
6 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 9 3.2%
7 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 8 2.9%
8 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 6 2.2%
9 Hot ember or ash 5 1.8%
10 Heat, spark from friction 3 1.1%
11 All other sources 28 10.0%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $4.2M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Gate departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $4,000,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $50,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $50,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $40,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $15,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $15,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How South Gate compares

South Gate vs California vs the nation

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

3.69
Incidents per 1,000 residents
South Gate
3.69
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.19
Building fires per 1,000 residents
South Gate
0.19
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
South Gate
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of South Gate

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,128,144 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 20.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 115,997 24.9 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 108,204 40.8 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 96,949 35.5 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 63,720 49.5 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 59,788 43.5 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 41,432 35.6 mi
2007 Misuse of fire by a minor 38,356 40.9 mi
1993 Arson/incendiarism 38,152 41.6 mi
2002 Arson/incendiarism 37,240 30.4 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 36,274 47.2 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30,305 26.5 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in South Gate do fires concentrate?

Top 5 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 90280 1,493
2 90262 174
3 90255 19
4 90201 10
5 90723 2
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to South Gate

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