In 2025, fire departments serving Imperial County responded to 1,089 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $750K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 41% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips.
5,940 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,317 | |
| 2022 | 1,666 | |
| 2023 | 1,065 | |
| 2024 | 803 | |
| 2025 | 1,089 |
For the 72 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Imperial County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 41% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Calexico | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $500,000 | Calexico | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major |
| 3 | $500,000 | El Centro | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Major |
| 4 | $500,000 | HOLTVILLE | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $352,000 | holtville | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $337,800 | CALEXICO | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $300,000 | El Centro | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major |
| 8 | $250,000 | El Centro | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $250,000 | Holtville | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $250,000 | Holtville | Building fires | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 06025.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| El Centro | 44,184 | View › |
| Calexico | 38,599 | View › |
| Brawley | 26,509 | View › |
| Imperial | 20,430 | View › |
| Heber | 7,910 | View › |
| Calipatria | 6,579 | View › |
| Salton City | 6,202 | View › |
| Holtville | 5,620 | View › |
| Westmorland | 2,010 | View › |
| Seeley | 1,756 | View › |
| Niland | 602 | View › |
| El Centro Naval Air Facility | 539 | View › |
13 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.