Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
Five senators told Interior and USDA the $6 billion FY2026 fire suppression budget was nearly spent by Sept. 2, citing staffing gaps and firefighter deaths.
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.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
123 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $22K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | -18.5% | |
| 2023 | 27 | +22.7% | |
| 2024 | 29 | +7.4% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -37.9% |
For the 1 building fires Tangent departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
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 origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
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 source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% |
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 |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tangent sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
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.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Tangent. 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.