In 2025, fire departments serving Cle Elum responded to 231 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
632 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $393K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 101 | +1.0% | |
| 2023 | 116 | +14.9% | |
| 2024 | 84 | -27.6% | |
| 2025 | 231 | +175.0% |
For the 20 building fires Cle Elum 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 | Undetermined | 24 | 13.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 23 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 18 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 17 | 9.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 9.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 3 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 17.3% |
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 Cle Elum mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 27 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 16 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 5 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 26 | 15.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cle Elum departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cle Elum sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 642,349 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80,053 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74,800 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 71,209 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52,056 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 43,874 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 41,404 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 36,817 | 13.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 29,435 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,500 | 6.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Other causes | 22,001 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 19,314 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 19,291 | 38.7 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Cle Elum. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cle Elum.
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.