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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Turlock, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Turlock responded to 255 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $415K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B+ Peak yr 2022 Stanislaus County 72,504 residents 1 reporting departments 1,937 5-yr
Total incidents
255
-42.4% vs 2024
Building fires
38
Residential 66% Other 34%
Property loss
$2.3M
$1.6M structure · $681K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 2
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 2 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 53% of all calls.

255
Total Incidents
Building fires 38 14.9%
Grass fire 36 14.1%
Cooking fire, confined to container 26 10.2%
Passenger vehicle fire 17 6.7%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 17 6.7%
All other categories 121 47.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

Jan 30
Feb 27
Mar 29
Apr 26
May 4
Jun 45
Jul 48
Aug 26
Sep 20
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Turlock

1,937 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $9.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021* 154 —
2022 611 —
2023 474 -22.4%
2024 443 -6.5%
2025 255 -42.4%

* Well below Turlock'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 38 building fires Turlock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
30%
18
Cause undetermined
20%
12
Intentional / arson
8%
5
Equipment / heat source failure
22%
13
Under investigation
18%
11
Act of nature (lightning)
2%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Turlock?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 457 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 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 85 18.6%
2 Outside area, other 54 11.8%
3 Undetermined 36 7.9%
4 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 26 5.7%
5 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 25 5.5%
6 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 22 4.8%
7 Vehicle area, other 19 4.2%
8 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 15 3.3%
9 Cooking area, kitchen 14 3.1%
10 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 12 2.6%
11 All other areas 149 32.6%
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 Turlock mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 224 49.0%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 33 7.2%
3 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 31 6.8%
4 Arcing 22 4.8%
5 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 19 4.2%
6 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 16 3.5%
7 Heat source: other 13 2.8%
8 Hot or smoldering object, other 11 2.4%
9 Cigarette lighter 10 2.2%
10 Fireworks 8 1.8%
11 All other sources 70 15.3%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $1.5M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Turlock departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 89% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $415,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $400,000 Building fires Major Investigated
3 $373,000 Building fires Major Investigated
4 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
5 $60,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $50,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
7 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
8 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Turlock compares

Turlock vs California vs the nation

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

3.52
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Turlock
3.52
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.52
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Turlock
0.52
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Turlock
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Turlock

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,074,420 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 396,624 39.3 mi
2013 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 255,858 49.0 mi
2017 Firearms and explosives use 81,826 36.1 mi
2007 Recreation and ceremony 47,760 40.8 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 34,271 24.3 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 34,091 47.4 mi
2003 Natural 30,170 49.6 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 25,000 15.0 mi
1996 Natural 22,080 48.1 mi
1992 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 18,000 47.8 mi
1996 Equipment and vehicle use 16,820 41.2 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,300 10.9 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Turlock do fires concentrate?

Top 10 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 95380 1,498
2 95382 419
3 95307 4
4 95356 3
5 95324 2
6 95358 2
7 95112 1
8 95316 1
9 95329 1
10 95351 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Turlock

Six California cities with population within ±25% of Turlock. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Turlock?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Turlock.

TURLOCK RURAL FPD
690 W Canal DR
FDID 50120Volunteer
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.