In 2025, fire departments serving Tok responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $175K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
56 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 7 | -41.7% | |
| 2023 | 10 | +42.9% | |
| 2024 | 9 | -10.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | +100.0% |
For the 3 building fires Tok departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 15.6% |
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 Tok mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 21.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 18.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tok departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $90,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $55,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $27,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tok sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 970,079 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Natural | 463,994 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 284,595 | 14.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 35,874 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27,193 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 25,500 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 20,749 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 19,667 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 17,934 | 8.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 14,912 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 13,383 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 6,891 | 24.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 6,710 | 20.0 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 | 99780 | 54 |
Six Alaska cities with population within ±25% of Tok. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tok.
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.