In 2025, fire departments serving South Cle Elum responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
73 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 15 | -16.7% | |
| 2024 | 12 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +33.3% |
For the 3 building fires South Cle Elum departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 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 | Other | 5 | 41.7% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 8.3% |
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 South Cle Elum mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 8.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Cle Elum sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 642,349 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80,053 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 74,800 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 71,209 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52,056 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 43,874 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 41,404 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 36,817 | 13.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 29,435 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 23,500 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Other causes | 22,001 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 19,314 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 19,291 | 39.1 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 South Cle Elum. 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.