In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Forest Park responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
229 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | -5.6% | |
| 2023 | 39 | -23.5% | |
| 2024 | 45 | +15.4% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -11.1% |
For the 0 building fires Lake Forest Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 8 | 16.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 18.0% |
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 Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 48.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 14.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Forest Park departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $250 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Forest Park sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,329 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,312 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 594 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 494 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 360 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 294 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 290 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 289 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 200 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 170 | 47.1 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 Washington cities with population within ±25% of Lake Forest Park. 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.