In 2025, fire departments serving Big Lake responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $261K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 79% of all calls.
May peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
331 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | +19.4% | |
| 2023 | 63 | -14.9% | |
| 2024 | 59 | -6.3% | |
| 2025 | 73 | +23.7% |
For the 14 building fires Big Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 173 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 35 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 26 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 9 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 43 | 24.9% |
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 Big Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 81 | 46.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 9 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated heat from another fire | 9 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Match | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 10.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Big Lake departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $260,800 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Big Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 66,500 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Fireworks | 37,336 | 7.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 8,494 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,264 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 3,496 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,288 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 1,701 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,314 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 777 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 461 | 13.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 383 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 367 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 240 | 21.2 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Alaska cities with population within ±25% of Big Lake. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.