In 2025, fire departments serving Berrien County responded to 1,930 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $602K property loss.
Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
9,421 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,893 | |
| 2022 | 1,883 | |
| 2023 | 1,859 | |
| 2024 | 1,856 | |
| 2025 | 1,930 |
For the 345 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Berrien County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 41% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $602,000 | Three Oaks | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $500,000 | Coloma | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $500,000 | Lincoln Twp | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $400,000 | Niles | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $400,000 | Sodus | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $300,000 | Benton Harbor | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $300,000 | St Joseph | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $204,500 | ST JOSEPH | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $200,000 | Benton Harbor | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $200,000 | COLOMA | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 26021.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Niles | 11,871 | View › |
| Benton Harbor | 9,101 | View › |
| St. Joseph | 7,852 | View › |
| Fair Plain | 6,882 | View › |
| Buchanan | 4,276 | View › |
| Benton Heights | 3,763 | View › |
| Paw Paw Lake | 3,643 | View › |
| Bridgman | 2,378 | View › |
| Berrien Springs | 2,022 | View › |
| Watervliet | 1,883 | View › |
| Shorewood-Tower Hills-Harbert | 1,501 | View › |
| New Buffalo | 1,362 | View › |
22 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 | Brittle | 2021 | USFS | 5,666 |
| 2 | 21-SLBE Lasso Loop burn | 2021 | NPS | 577 |
| 3 | 21-SLBE Peterson | 2021 | NPS | 512 |
| 4 | 21-SLBE Otter Creek burn | 2021 | NPS | 506 |
| 5 | Horn | 2021 | NPS | 485 |
| 6 | Unhappy Camper | 2015 | USFS | 471 |
| 7 | 21-SLBE Bass Lake burn | 2021 | NPS | 405 |
| 8 | Good Harbor Trail RX | 2023 | NPS | 342 |
| 9 | Summit Lake | 2024 | USFS | 327 |
| 10 | MISNR-FY19-RX-Red Pine Natural Area | 2019 | FWS | 172 |
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.