Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
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In 2025, fire departments serving Brownsville responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | +60.0% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -45.0% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -22.7% | |
| 2025 | 16 | -5.9% |
For the 5 building fires Brownsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 26.3% |
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 Brownsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 18.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brownsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 418,235 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 193,573 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 173,393 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Smoking | 11,555 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 10,114 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Smoking | 8,709 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 6,033 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,964 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,587 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,070 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 790 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 650 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 532 | 49.6 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Brownsville. 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.