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In 2025, fire departments serving Oakridge responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
193 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $564K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +37.5% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -29.5% | |
| 2024 | 42 | +35.5% | |
| 2025 | 44 | +4.8% |
For the 6 building fires Oakridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | 14 | 21.2% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 18.2% |
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 Oakridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oakridge departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oakridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 697,498 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 | 173,393 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 131,542 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 48,079 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48,000 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 31,449 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 26,795 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 21,135 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 20,840 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 19,775 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 18,086 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,600 | 33.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 16,358 | 49.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 97463 | 193 |
Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Oakridge. 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.