In 2025, fire departments serving Waitsburg responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cultivated grain or crop fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
122 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | -3.3% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -24.1% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -18.2% | |
| 2025 | 23 | +27.8% |
For the 0 building fires Waitsburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | 19 | 31.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 5.0% |
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 Waitsburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waitsburg departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Cultivated grain or crop fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waitsburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 465,301 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 109,259 | 10.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 80,212 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 52,000 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,000 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 22,000 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21,620 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,377 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,500 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,453 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,375 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,929 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,168 | 17.1 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 | 99361 | 122 |
Six Washington cities with population within ±25% of Waitsburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Waitsburg.
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.