Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
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In 2025, fire departments serving Umatilla responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
463 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 70 | — | |
| 2022 | 88 | +25.7% | |
| 2023 | 117 | +33.0% | |
| 2024 | 83 | -29.1% | |
| 2025 | 105 | +26.5% |
For the 3 building fires Umatilla departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 228 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 | 65 | 28.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 39 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 26 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 14 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 11 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 11.8% |
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 Umatilla mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 89 | 39.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 29 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 19 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 11 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 10 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 35 | 15.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Umatilla departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Umatilla sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 316,356 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Natural | 78,000 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21,620 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 20,947 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 17,946 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,765 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,756 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,377 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 11,300 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,408 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,929 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 9,357 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8,988 | 15.9 mi |
Top 6 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 Umatilla. 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.