In 2025, fire departments serving Okanogan responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
243 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | +5.5% | |
| 2023 | 48 | -17.2% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -22.9% | |
| 2025 | 45 | +21.6% |
For the 2 building fires Okanogan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 90 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 | 23 | 25.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 22.2% |
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 Okanogan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 63.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Match | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Okanogan departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Okanogan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,981,955 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Natural | 255,575 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 223,731 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 218,138 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 189,923 | 3.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 165,883 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 132,646 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 113,011 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 88,483 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 81,343 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 76,817 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 62,173 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 55,913 | 43.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Okanogan. 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.