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In 2025, fire departments serving Junction City responded to 135 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
586 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 113 | — | |
| 2022 | 115 | +1.8% | |
| 2023 | 111 | -3.5% | |
| 2024 | 112 | +0.9% | |
| 2025 | 135 | +20.5% |
For the 19 building fires Junction City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 253 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 | 59 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 39 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 16 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 15 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 14 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 52 | 20.6% |
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 Junction City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 88 | 34.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 18 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 16 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 50 | 19.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Junction City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $22,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Junction City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 27,386 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Natural | 10,114 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 6,033 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,964 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,070 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 790 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 650 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 518 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 376 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 307 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Fireworks | 260 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 243 | 26.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 198 | 38.1 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 Junction City. 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.