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 Troutdale responded to 84 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $190K 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 64% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
370 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | +70.6% | |
| 2023 | 65 | -25.3% | |
| 2024 | 83 | +27.7% | |
| 2025 | 84 | +1.2% |
For the 8 building fires Troutdale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | Outside area, other | 15 | 16.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 23.7% |
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 Troutdale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 16.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Troutdale departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $189,725 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $125,334 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $19,898 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Troutdale sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 293,671 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 | 138,054 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Fireworks | 48,488 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24,995 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 24,400 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 17,442 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 7,500 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 6,304 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,508 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 3,280 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 2,810 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,584 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 2,033 | 49.1 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 Oregon cities with population within ±25% of Troutdale. 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.