In 2025, fire departments serving Snoqualmie responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 53% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
385 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 89 | +61.8% | |
| 2023 | 96 | +7.9% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -37.5% | |
| 2025 | 85 | +41.7% |
For the 5 building fires Snoqualmie departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | 17 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Technical processing areas, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 25.3% |
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 Snoqualmie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 41.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Snoqualmie departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Snoqualmie sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 109,471 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52,056 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 36,817 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 4,607 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,853 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 1,132 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 1,097 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,061 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 969 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 894 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 750 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 735 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 617 | 45.1 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 Snoqualmie. 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.