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In 2025, fire departments serving Molalla responded to 163 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 67% of all calls.
May peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
842 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 228 | — | |
| 2022 | 165 | -27.6% | |
| 2023 | 151 | -8.5% | |
| 2024 | 135 | -10.6% | |
| 2025 | 163 | +20.7% |
For the 30 building fires Molalla departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 244 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 | 50 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 39 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 23 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 65 | 26.6% |
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 Molalla mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 67 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 24 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 22 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 17 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 14 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 11 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 44 | 18.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Molalla departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Molalla sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 464,675 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 193,573 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 138,054 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Fireworks | 48,488 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 24,400 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 11,513 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 7,500 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 6,304 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 6,103 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,508 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 3,280 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 2,810 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,584 | 3.8 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 Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Molalla. 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.