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2025 County Report

Fires in Mendocino County, CA

In 2025, fire departments serving Mendocino County responded to 912 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.2M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

44,572 residents FIPS 06045 91 cities · 13 fire depts
Total incidents
912
4,578 across 5 years
Building fires
69
199 wildland
Property loss
$5.5M
$4.7M structure · $781K contents
Casualties
0 / 2
0 civ deaths · 1 civ inj · 1 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.

912
Total Incidents
Hazardous condition, other 145 15.9%
Power line down 96 10.5%
Unauthorized burning 93 10.2%
Building fires 69 7.6%
Forest, woods or wildland fire 63 6.9%
All other categories 446 48.9%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Mendocino County?

Dec peaks. Mar dips.

Jan 50
Feb 68
Mar 38
Apr 53
May 76
Jun 69
Jul 111
Aug 93
Sep 78
Oct 71
Nov 62
Dec 143
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Mendocino County

4,578 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 868
2022 757
2023 971
2024 1,070
2025 912
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 69 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
40%
54
Cause undetermined
12%
16
Intentional / arson
21%
29
Equipment / heat source failure
13%
17
Under investigation
13%
17
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
2
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $4.1M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Mendocino County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 88% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $1,200,000 Laytonville Census D Building fires Major
2 $1,000,000 Mendocino Building fires Major
3 $500,000 Laytonville Census D Building fires Major
4 $500,000 Mendocino Building fires Major
5 $400,000 UKIAH Building fires Major
6 $200,000 Ukiah Building fires Significant
7 $100,000 Willits Building fires Significant
8 $100,000 Gualala Building fires Significant
9 $80,000 UKIAH Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle Significant
10 $65,000 Ukiah Building fires Significant
06 How Mendocino County compares

Mendocino County vs CA vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

20.46
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Mendocino County
20.46
CA avg
5.35
US avg
7.15
1.55
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Mendocino County
1.55
CA avg
0.33
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Mendocino County
0
CA avg
2.9
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Mendocino County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 06045.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Mendocino County

13 departments report from this county.

FORT BRAGG FD
—
FDID 23030 141 incidents
CDFMENDOCINO
—
FDID 23555 141 incidents
SOUTH COAST FPD
Gualala
FDID 23040 97 incidents 21 vol
MENDOCINO FPD
—
FDID 23050 52 incidents
HOPLAND VFD
—
FDID 23100 47 incidents
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in CA

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 DIXIE 2021 USFS 963,309
2 DOE 2020 USFS 589,835
3 PARK 2024 CDF 429,602
4 Ranch 2018 USFS 410,202
5 Ranch 2018 BLM 410,200
6 CREEK 2020 USFS 379,881
7 HOPKINS 2020 USFS 328,621
8 Claremont 2020 USFS 318,776
9 Rush 2012 BLM 307,083
10 Rush 2012 BLM 306,810

About this data

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.