In 2025, fire departments serving Benton County responded to 146 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $100K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips.
418 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | |
| 2022 | 21 | |
| 2023 | 51 | |
| 2024 | 142 | |
| 2025 | 146 |
For the 36 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Benton County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Hickory Flat | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $99,999 | Lamar | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $99,999 | Michigan City | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $99,999 | Lamar | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
| 5 | $99,999 | Michigan City | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 6 | $50,000 | Lamar | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $30,000 | Lamar | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 8 | $16,000 | Lamar | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $10,000 | Lamar | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $9,999 | Michigan City | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
9 cities mapped to FIPS 28009.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Hickory Flat | 730 | View › |
| Ashland | 663 | View › |
| Snow Lake Shores | 364 | View › |
| Lamar | 0 | View › |
| Winborn | 0 | View › |
| Brody | 0 | View › |
| Canaan | 0 | View › |
| Michigan City | 0 | View › |
| New Canaan | 0 | View › |
2 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toms Camp | 2023 | USFS | 5,301 |
| 2 | Grand Bature Fire | 2016 | PRI | 4,247 |
| 3 | Range 40 | 2022 | USFS | 3,836 |
| 4 | Range 12 | 2022 | USFS | 2,753 |
| 5 | Baldy North | 2023 | USFS | 2,093 |
| 6 | Range 45 Northeast | 2023 | USFS | 1,823 |
| 7 | Indian Creek | 2023 | USFS | 1,771 |
| 8 | County Line | 2023 | USFS | 1,554 |
| 9 | Carson Six | 2024 | USFS | 1,346 |
| 10 | Parces Rd | 2024 | USFS | 1,158 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.