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In 2025, fire departments serving Hood River responded to 106 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 68% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
479 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | -18.0% | |
| 2023 | 59 | -28.0% | |
| 2024 | 132 | +123.7% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -19.7% |
For the 26 building fires Hood River departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 143 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 | 39 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 17 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 10 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 18.2% |
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 Hood River mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 38.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 18 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 13.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hood River sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 669,869 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Natural | 100,226 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78,425 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 68,135 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 53,523 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Fireworks | 48,488 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33,451 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 28,500 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26,093 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24,995 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 24,400 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 20,296 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20,026 | 24.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 97031 | 479 |
Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Hood River. 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.