In 2025, fire departments serving Kenai responded to 112 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
618 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 123 | +35.2% | |
| 2023 | 146 | +18.7% | |
| 2024 | 146 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 112 | -23.3% |
For the 18 building fires Kenai departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 102 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 | 19 | 18.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Entrance way, lobby | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 27.5% |
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 Kenai mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 42.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kenai departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $83,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kenai sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 514,151 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 196,722 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 167,182 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 56,254 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 26,300 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 17,510 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 13,221 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 10,131 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,876 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 8,600 | 38.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,800 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 1,960 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,906 | 36.1 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 Alaska cities with population within ±25% of Kenai. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Kenai.
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.