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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Sutter Creek, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Sutter Creek responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B Peak yr 2023 Amador County 2,659 residents 0 reporting departments 135 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Sutter Creek's departments reported 15 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 27 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
15
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
4
Residential 50% Other 50%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.

15
Total Incidents
Building fires 4 26.7%
Grass fire 3 20.0%
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 1 6.7%
Natural vegetation fire, other 1 6.7%
Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire 1 6.7%
All other categories 5 33.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

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

Year over year in Sutter Creek

135 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $661K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 22 —
2022* 9 —
2023 71 —
2024 18 -74.6%
2025* 15 —

* Well below Sutter Creek's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 4 building fires Sutter Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Sutter Creek?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 6 20.7%
2 Cooking area, kitchen 4 13.8%
3 Undetermined 4 13.8%
4 Other 2 6.9%
5 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 2 6.9%
6 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 1 3.4%
7 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 1 3.4%
8 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 1 3.4%
9 Service facilities, other 1 3.4%
10 Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC 1 3.4%
11 All other areas 6 20.7%
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 Sutter Creek mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 12 41.4%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 4 13.8%
3 Heat source: other 2 6.9%
4 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 2 6.9%
5 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 2 6.9%
6 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 2 6.9%
7 Arcing 1 3.4%
8 Cigarette lighter 1 3.4%
9 Flame/torch used for lighting 1 3.4%
10 Conducted heat from another fire 1 3.4%
11 All other sources 1 3.4%
05 How Sutter Creek compares

Sutter Creek vs California vs the nation

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

5.64
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Sutter Creek
5.64
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
1.5
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Sutter Creek
1.5
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Sutter Creek
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Sutter Creek

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 431,289 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2014 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 97,717 30.5 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 70,868 6.8 mi
2018 Natural 36,450 47.9 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 24,580 33.4 mi
1996 Natural 22,080 49.6 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 18,000 18.5 mi
2004 Equipment and vehicle use 16,823 33.8 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 16,761 48.7 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 14,280 29.5 mi
1998 Equipment and vehicle use 12,613 45.5 mi
2018 Equipment and vehicle use 11,789 24.0 mi
1996 Arson/incendiarism 9,820 19.5 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Sutter Creek 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 95685 133
2 95629 1
3 95699 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Sutter Creek

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