Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
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In 2025, fire departments serving Culver responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 86% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
210 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $464K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +10.0% | |
| 2023 | 42 | -4.5% | |
| 2024 | 49 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -28.6% |
For the 1 building fires Culver departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 92 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 | 27 | 29.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 8 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 15.2% |
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 Culver mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 40.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 19.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Culver departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Culver sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,167,322 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Natural | 204,469 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 118,230 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 100,226 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 79,734 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 68,135 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 66,613 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 53,000 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 51,384 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 50,900 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 35,724 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Other causes | 33,490 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 30,251 | 47.3 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 Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Culver. 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.