Dome Fire Reaches 6,632 Acres in Yosemite, 40% Contained as of Oct. 3
The Dome Fire has burned 6,632 acres in Yosemite National Park and is 40% contained as of Oct. 3, with 765 personnel assigned; Glacier Point Road stays closed.
CA
In 2025, fire departments serving Thermal responded to 163 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
579 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $7.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 105 | — | |
| 2022 | 98 | -6.7% | |
| 2023 | 101 | +3.1% | |
| 2024 | 112 | +10.9% | |
| 2025 | 163 | +45.5% |
For the 10 building fires Thermal departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 294 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 origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 84 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 50 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 43 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 34 | 11.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 10 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 7 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 13.3% |
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 Thermal mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 167 | 56.8% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 21 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 20 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 10 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 7 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Thermal departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $275,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Thermal sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 500,098 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 61,700 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61,690 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Other causes | 49,390 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 40,200 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28,164 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 27,531 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23,455 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 20,901 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,292 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 19,575 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 14,100 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 14,000 | 27.7 mi |
Top 9 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six California cities with population within ±25% of Thermal. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
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.