In 2025, fire departments serving Oregon responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
307 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $808K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | -3.6% | |
| 2023 | 73 | +37.7% | |
| 2024 | 80 | +9.6% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -42.5% |
For the 2 building fires Oregon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 14.3% |
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 Oregon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 51.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oregon sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,893 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,100 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,100 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 617 | 22.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 580 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 254 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 252 | 32.4 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 Wisconsin cities with population within ±25% of Oregon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oregon.
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.