In 2025, fire departments serving Oak Harbor responded to 226 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $689K 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 42% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,042 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.7M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 285 | — | |
| 2022 | 161 | -43.5% | |
| 2023 | 198 | +23.0% | |
| 2024 | 172 | -13.1% | |
| 2025 | 226 | +31.4% |
For the 22 building fires Oak Harbor departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 335 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 | 67 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 41 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 39 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 33 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 21 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 77 | 23.0% |
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 Oak Harbor mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 131 | 39.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 25 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 25 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 25 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 17 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 15 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 10 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 9 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 56 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oak Harbor departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 89% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $689,432 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $439,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $276,120 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $135,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $85,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $80,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oak Harbor sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,323 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 2,475 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,243 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 820 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 817 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 443 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 94 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 89 | 22.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 68 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 67 | 42.2 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 Oak Harbor. 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.