Home› Oregon› Tangent
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Tangent, Oregon

In 2025, fire departments serving Tangent responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B- Peak yr 2024 Linn County 1,299 residents 0 reporting departments 123 5-yr
Total incidents
18
-37.9% vs 2024
Building fires
1
Residential 0% Other 100%
Property loss
$3K
$3K structure · $100 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.

18
Total Incidents
Grass fire 5 27.8%
Authorized controlled burning 3 16.7%
Unauthorized burning 2 11.1%
Fire, other 1 5.6%
Building fires 1 5.6%
All other categories 6 33.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 0
Feb 0
Mar 0
Apr 1
May 0
Jun 5
Jul 0
Aug 1
Sep 1
Oct 7
Nov 1
Dec 2
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Tangent

123 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $22K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 27 —
2022 22 -18.5%
2023 27 +22.7%
2024 29 +7.4%
2025 18 -37.9%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 1 building fires Tangent departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
38%
3
Cause undetermined
50%
4
Intentional / arson
12%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Tangent?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 originCountShare 
1 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 10 19.6%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 7 13.7%
3 Outside area, other 7 13.7%
4 Undetermined 6 11.8%
5 Vehicle area, other 3 5.9%
6 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 3 5.9%
7 Processing/manufacturing area, workroom 2 3.9%
8 Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay 2 3.9%
9 Railroad right of way: on or near 2 3.9%
10 Wildland, woods 2 3.9%
11 All other areas 7 13.7%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Tangent mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 27 52.9%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 5 9.8%
3 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 5 9.8%
4 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 3 5.9%
5 Heat source: other 2 3.9%
6 Hot ember or ash 2 3.9%
7 Arcing 1 2.0%
8 Hot or smoldering object, other 1 2.0%
9 Heat, spark from friction 1 2.0%
10 Warning or road flare; fusee 1 2.0%
11 All other sources 3 5.9%
04 The biggest fires

1 fires · $3K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tangent departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $2,500 Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire Significant Investigated
05 How Tangent compares

Tangent vs Oregon vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tangent sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

13.86
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Tangent
13.86
OR avg
8.47
US avg
7.48
0.77
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Tangent
0.77
OR avg
0.83
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Tangent
0
OR avg
3.8
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Tangent

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 214,620 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 193,573 49.1 mi
2017 Natural 10,114 46.1 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 4,964 47.7 mi
2006 Natural 1,070 33.9 mi
2020 Power generation/transmission/distribution 532 43.1 mi
2002 Recreation and ceremony 518 47.3 mi
2003 Debris and open burning 376 25.2 mi
2014 Debris and open burning 330 40.6 mi
2017 Debris and open burning 303 48.9 mi
2009 Recreation and ceremony 283 40.4 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 281 48.4 mi
1999 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 243 46.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Tangent do fires concentrate?

Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 97389 121
2 97321 1
3 97322 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Tangent

Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Tangent. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.