In 2025, fire departments serving Lynden responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 45% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
605 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 127 | — | |
| 2022 | 135 | +6.3% | |
| 2023 | 142 | +5.2% | |
| 2024 | 104 | -26.8% | |
| 2025 | 97 | -6.7% |
For the 9 building fires Lynden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 134 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 | 37 | 27.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 20.9% |
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 Lynden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 41.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 11 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 8 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lynden departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lynden sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,099 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Natural | 173 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 14.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 94 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 67 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 61 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Fireworks | 50 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 40 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 40 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Fireworks | 32 | 14.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Lynden. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lynden.
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.