In 2025, fire departments serving Baraga responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 90% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
77 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +70.6% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -62.1% | |
| 2024 | 10 | -9.1% | |
| 2025 | 10 | +0.0% |
For the 1 building fires Baraga departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 23.5% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Baraga mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 35.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Baraga departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Baraga sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,359 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,625 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,127 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 806 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 4.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 388 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 148 | 5.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 134 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 85 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 85 | 37.9 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 Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Baraga. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Baraga.
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.