In 2025, fire departments serving Merced County responded to 2,659 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $2.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips.
13,792 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2,993 | |
| 2022 | 2,410 | |
| 2023 | 2,824 | |
| 2024 | 2,906 | |
| 2025 | 2,659 |
For the 132 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Merced County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 41% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Hilmar | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $1,393,856 | MERCED | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $500,000 | MCKEE | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $375,000 | LOSBANOS | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major |
| 5 | $360,678 | MERCED | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $350,000 | Winton | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $300,000 | Livingston | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major |
| 8 | $300,000 | MERCEDCITY | Grass fire | Major |
| 9 | $267,000 | ATWATERCITY | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $250,000 | Ballico | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 06047.
8 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.