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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Walnut Creek, California

In 2025, fire departments serving Walnut Creek responded to 249 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2023 Contra Costa County 69,809 residents 0 reporting departments 1,498 5-yr
Total incidents
249
-19.9% vs 2024
Building fires
15
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$804K
$565K structure · $239K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.

249
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 47 18.9%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 33 13.3%
Outside rubbish fire, other 28 11.2%
Passenger vehicle fire 17 6.8%
Building fires 15 6.0%
All other categories 109 43.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 25
Feb 23
Mar 19
Apr 13
May 25
Jun 29
Jul 28
Aug 24
Sep 20
Oct 18
Nov 19
Dec 6
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Walnut Creek

1,498 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 289 —
2022 311 +7.6%
2023 338 +8.7%
2024 311 -8.0%
2025 249 -19.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 15 building fires Walnut Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
29%
16
Cause undetermined
38%
21
Intentional / arson
2%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
12%
7
Under investigation
16%
9
Act of nature (lightning)
3%
2
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Walnut Creek?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 347 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 Undetermined 98 28.2%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 45 13.0%
3 Cooking area, kitchen 25 7.2%
4 Outside area, other 23 6.6%
5 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 13 3.7%
6 Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles 11 3.2%
7 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 9 2.6%
8 Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace 9 2.6%
9 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 8 2.3%
10 Vehicle area, other 8 2.3%
11 All other areas 98 28.2%
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 Walnut Creek mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 197 56.8%
2 Arcing 39 11.2%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 31 8.9%
4 Heat source: other 17 4.9%
5 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 9 2.6%
6 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 8 2.3%
7 Hot or smoldering object, other 8 2.3%
8 Cigarette 5 1.4%
9 Hot ember or ash 4 1.2%
10 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 4 1.2%
11 All other sources 25 7.2%
04 The biggest fires

8 fires · $442K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walnut Creek departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 78% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
2 $100,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
3 $70,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
4 $35,000 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
5 $30,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
6 $20,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
7 $20,000 Fire, other Significant Investigated
8 $16,500 Passenger vehicle fire Significant Investigated
05 How Walnut Creek compares

Walnut Creek vs California vs the nation

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

3.57
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Walnut Creek
3.57
CA avg
5.32
US avg
7.48
0.21
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Walnut Creek
0.21
CA avg
0.32
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Walnut Creek
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.9
5b Who gets hurt

Casualty demographics in Walnut Creek

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.

AgeCount 
0-9 0
10-19 0
20-29 1
30-39 1
40-49 2
50-59 0
60-69 0
70-79 1
80+ 0
Civilian vs firefighter
Civilian 2 FF 3
Gender
M 4 F 1 Unk 0
Severity (1=minor → 5=fatal)
0
1
0
2
1
3
2
4
2
5
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Walnut Creek

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 999,233 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 42.0 mi
2020 Natural 305,651 44.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 86,509 45.6 mi
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 56,556 42.1 mi
2017 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 51,624 35.6 mi
1995 Recreation and ceremony 12,354 47.2 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 12,200 33.2 mi
2015 Equipment and vehicle use 8,051 41.9 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 6,804 42.1 mi
2005 Arson/incendiarism 6,744 28.7 mi
2014 Fireworks 6,488 42.3 mi
2000 Equipment and vehicle use 5,731 46.2 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Walnut Creek do fires concentrate?

Top 5 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 94597 6
2 94596 5
3 94595 3
4 94598 3
5 94518 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Walnut Creek

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