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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Sutter, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Sutter responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B Peak yr 2022 Sutter County 2,848 residents 0 reporting departments 170 5-yr
Total incidents
36
+2.9% vs 2024
Building fires
3
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$40K
$20K structure · $20K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.

36
Total Incidents
Power line down 6 16.7%
Fire, other 4 11.1%
Building fires 3 8.3%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 3 8.3%
Authorized controlled burning 3 8.3%
All other categories 17 47.2%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

May peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 5
Feb 2
Mar 6
Apr 6
May 7
Jun 0
Jul 4
Aug 0
Sep 1
Oct 3
Nov 2
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Sutter

170 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $162K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 23 —
2022 53 +130.4%
2023 23 -56.6%
2024 35 +52.2%
2025 36 +2.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 3 building fires Sutter departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
36%
5
Cause undetermined
29%
4
Intentional / arson
14%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
21%
3
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Sutter?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 11 21.6%
2 Undetermined 9 17.6%
3 Outside area, other 7 13.7%
4 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 5 9.8%
5 Cooking area, kitchen 4 7.8%
6 Other 3 5.9%
7 Function area, other 3 5.9%
8 Wall assembly 2 3.9%
9 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 2 3.9%
10 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 1 2.0%
11 All other areas 4 7.8%
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 Sutter mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 17 33.3%
2 Hot ember or ash 7 13.7%
3 Hot or smoldering object, other 4 7.8%
4 Heat source: other 3 5.9%
5 Heat from powered equipment, other 3 5.9%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 3 5.9%
7 Chemical reaction 3 5.9%
8 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 1 2.0%
9 Arcing 1 2.0%
10 Heat, spark from friction 1 2.0%
11 All other sources 8 15.7%
04 The biggest fires

2 fires · $20K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sutter departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $20,000 Outside equipment fire Significant Investigated
2 $100 Special outside fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Sutter compares

Sutter vs California vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sutter sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

12.64
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Sutter
12.64
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
1.05
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Sutter
1.05
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Sutter
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Sutter

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 638,920 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2018 Power generation/transmission/distribution 153,336 48.5 mi
2018 Other causes 90,288 34.0 mi
2015 Other causes 69,363 43.3 mi
1999 Arson/incendiarism 40,000 34.7 mi
2004 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 39,138 32.7 mi
2015 Equipment and vehicle use 25,156 46.0 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 24,970 49.7 mi
2008 Arson/incendiarism 23,344 41.9 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 19,609 27.8 mi
2012 Arson/incendiarism 17,944 35.1 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 15,186 46.6 mi
1999 Natural 13,652 47.0 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Sutter 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 95982 164
2 95961 2
3 95987 2
4 95991 1
5 95993 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Sutter

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Sutter. 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.