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 Valley Center responded to 89 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $900K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
382 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $4.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | +12.3% | |
| 2023 | 73 | -11.0% | |
| 2024 | 65 | -11.0% | |
| 2025 | 89 | +36.9% |
For the 18 building fires Valley Center departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 120 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 28 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 14 | 11.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 9.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 9 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 8.3% |
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 Valley Center mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 49.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 14 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Valley Center departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $900,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $600,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $60,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $30,000 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Valley Center sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,079,095 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 280,059 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 197,990 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61,690 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 56,427 | 4.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Other causes | 49,390 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47,921 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 40,200 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28,164 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 27,531 | 36.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 24,387 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,025 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21,384 | 31.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Valley Center. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Valley Center.
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.