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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Vista, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Vista responded to 116 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A+ Peak yr 2022 San Diego County 98,392 residents 0 reporting departments 1,415 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Vista's departments reported 116 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 283 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
116
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
16
Residential 63% Other 37%
Property loss
$656K
$427K structure · $230K 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 52% of all calls.

116
Total Incidents
Building fires 16 13.8%
Fire, other 13 11.2%
Outside rubbish fire, other 13 11.2%
Passenger vehicle fire 11 9.5%
Cooking fire, confined to container 7 6.0%
All other categories 56 48.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 38
Feb 16
Mar 19
Apr 1
May 4
Jun 3
Jul 9
Aug 8
Sep 2
Oct 1
Nov 7
Dec 8
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Vista

1,415 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $10.6M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 323 —
2022 347 +7.4%
2023 310 -10.7%
2024 319 +2.9%
2025* 116 —

* Well below Vista'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 16 building fires Vista departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
39%
12
Cause undetermined
29%
9
Intentional / arson
10%
3
Equipment / heat source failure
10%
3
Under investigation
13%
4
Act of nature (lightning)
-1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Vista?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 455 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 82 18.0%
2 Outside area, other 81 17.8%
3 Undetermined 48 10.5%
4 Cooking area, kitchen 44 9.7%
5 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 29 6.4%
6 Other 26 5.7%
7 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 20 4.4%
8 Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles 16 3.5%
9 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 14 3.1%
10 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 13 2.9%
11 All other areas 82 18.0%
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 Vista mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 258 56.7%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 53 11.6%
3 Heat source: other 28 6.2%
4 Arcing 23 5.1%
5 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 17 3.7%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 15 3.3%
7 Cigarette lighter 13 2.9%
8 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 10 2.2%
9 Hot or smoldering object, other 10 2.2%
10 Hot ember or ash 8 1.8%
11 All other sources 20 4.4%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $420K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vista departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $350,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $20,000 Fires in structures other than in a building Significant Investigated
3 $12,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $12,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
5 $10,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $6,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $5,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
8 $5,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Vista compares

Vista vs California vs the nation

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

1.18
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Vista
1.18
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.16
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Vista
0.16
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Vista
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Vista

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,001,821 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2003 Recreation and ceremony 280,059 32.8 mi
2007 Power generation/transmission/distribution 197,990 31.5 mi
2002 Equipment and vehicle use 61,690 38.9 mi
2003 Arson/incendiarism 56,427 17.1 mi
2007 Other causes 49,390 22.3 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 28,476 45.7 mi
2013 Power generation/transmission/distribution 27,531 46.3 mi
1993 Power generation/transmission/distribution 24,387 36.4 mi
2018 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 23,025 37.3 mi
1993 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 21,384 24.2 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 21,004 20.4 mi
1993 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 20,768 15.5 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Vista do fires concentrate?

Top 9 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 92083 704
2 92084 512
3 92081 173
4 92003 13
5 92008 4
6 92056 3
7 92057 3
8 92069 2
9 92123 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Vista

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