In 2025, fire departments serving Ninilchik responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $550K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
103 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -8.3% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -18.2% | |
| 2025 | 21 | +16.7% |
For the 3 building fires Ninilchik departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 41 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 | 16 | 39.0% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 14.6% |
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 Ninilchik mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 51.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ninilchik departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $550,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ninilchik sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 350,106 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 196,722 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 56,254 | 6.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 26,300 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 17,510 | 6.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 13,221 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 10,131 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,876 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 8,600 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5,400 | 24.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,800 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,074 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 1,016 | 46.6 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 Alaska cities with population within ±25% of Ninilchik. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ninilchik.
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.