In 2025, fire departments serving Camas responded to 157 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
702 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $8.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 139 | — | |
| 2022 | 117 | -15.8% | |
| 2023 | 171 | +46.2% | |
| 2024 | 118 | -31.0% | |
| 2025 | 157 | +33.1% |
For the 13 building fires Camas 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 | Outside area, other | 43 | 24.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 29 | 16.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 13 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 14.5% |
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 Camas mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 51.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Match | 4 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 11.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Camas departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,572,577 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Camas sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 272,210 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 | 138,054 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Fireworks | 48,488 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24,995 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 24,400 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 7,500 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 6,304 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,508 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 3,280 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,584 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,850 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,644 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,508 | 18.0 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Camas. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Camas.
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.