Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
Five senators told Interior and USDA the $6 billion FY2026 fire suppression budget was nearly spent by Sept. 2, citing staffing gaps and firefighter deaths.
In 2025, fire departments serving La Pine responded to 135 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 57% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
560 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $186K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 103 | — | |
| 2022 | 92 | -10.7% | |
| 2023 | 101 | +9.8% | |
| 2024 | 129 | +27.7% | |
| 2025 | 135 | +4.7% |
For the 12 building fires La Pine departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 156 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 | 28 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 21 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 20 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 19.9% |
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 La Pine mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 35.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 18 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 24 | 15.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by La Pine departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. La Pine sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 270,801 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Natural | 26,795 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 24,025 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 21,546 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 21,135 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 18,086 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 17,739 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 14,560 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Smoking | 11,555 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 10,400 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 10,000 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 9,975 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 9,400 | 41.6 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 La Pine. 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.