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.
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In 2025, fire departments serving Waldport responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
246 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $379K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | +20.4% | |
| 2023 | 57 | -3.4% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -29.8% | |
| 2025 | 41 | +2.5% |
For the 2 building fires Waldport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 73 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 | 23 | 31.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 15.1% |
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 Waldport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 31.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 13.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waldport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,652 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 | 2,552 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 790 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 650 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 518 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 376 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 307 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 281 | 43.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 243 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 202 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 191 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 140 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 135 | 37.0 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 Waldport. 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.