In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Forest responded to 202 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
957 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 194 | — | |
| 2022 | 190 | -2.1% | |
| 2023 | 187 | -1.6% | |
| 2024 | 184 | -1.6% | |
| 2025 | 202 | +9.8% |
For the 10 building fires Lake Forest departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 22 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 26.9% |
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 Lake Forest mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 32.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Forest departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $19,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Forest sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
8 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 5 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,617 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 750 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 200 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 180 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 76 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 75 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 15.1 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 Illinois cities with population within ±25% of Lake Forest. 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.