In 2025, fire departments serving Silver Bay responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 92% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
74 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $450K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | -67.9% | |
| 2023 | 16 | +77.8% | |
| 2024 | 9 | -43.8% | |
| 2025 | 12 | +33.3% |
For the 2 building fires Silver Bay departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 12 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Conveyor | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Multiple areas | 1 | 4.2% |
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 Silver Bay mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 62.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 4.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Silver Bay sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 101,045 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 92,682 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 3,048 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 2,085 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 973 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 340 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 258 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 257 | 10.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 144 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 120 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 27.7 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 | 55614 | 74 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Silver Bay. 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.