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 Turner responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
262 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $540K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | +49.0% | |
| 2023 | 59 | -19.2% | |
| 2024 | 42 | -28.8% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -7.1% |
For the 7 building fires Turner departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | 18 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 11 | 14.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 17.1% |
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 Turner mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Turner departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $400 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Turner sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 353,229 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 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 138,054 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,508 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 2,810 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,584 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 2,033 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,508 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 1,070 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 790 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 695 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 532 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 497 | 36.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Turner. 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.