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In 2025, fire departments serving Yoncalla responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 70% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $487K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +40.0% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +33.3% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -28.6% | |
| 2025 | 36 | +80.0% |
For the 2 building fires Yoncalla departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | 12 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 20.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 14.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 9.3% |
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 Yoncalla mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Yoncalla departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Yoncalla sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 423,900 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 | 131,542 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 48,079 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48,000 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 31,449 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 26,452 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 19,775 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 17,600 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,436 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Recreation and ceremony | 13,119 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 10,721 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 10,114 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8,395 | 30.9 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 Yoncalla. 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.