In 2025, fire departments serving Anacortes responded to 164 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
945 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $6.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 214 | — | |
| 2022 | 225 | +5.1% | |
| 2023 | 193 | -14.2% | |
| 2024 | 149 | -22.8% | |
| 2025 | 164 | +10.1% |
For the 31 building fires Anacortes departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 191 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 origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 28 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 26 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 26 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 15 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 51 | 26.7% |
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 Anacortes mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 92 | 48.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Anacortes departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Anacortes sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,624 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 94 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 89 | 27.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 68 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 67 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 61 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 60 | 38.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 | 33.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Fireworks | 50 | 28.4 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Anacortes. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Anacortes.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
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.