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2025 County Report

Fires in Eaton County, MI

In 2025, fire departments serving Eaton County responded to 1,021 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $500K property loss.

55,413 residents FIPS 26045 27 cities · 9 fire depts
Total incidents
1,021
4,893 across 5 years
Building fires
165
59 wildland
Property loss
$4.5M
$3.4M structure · $1.0M contents
Casualties
1 / 4
1 civ deaths · 1 civ inj · 3 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.

1,021
Total Incidents
Power line down 289 28.3%
Building fires 165 16.2%
Unauthorized burning 85 8.3%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 55 5.4%
Authorized controlled burning 42 4.1%
All other categories 385 37.7%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Eaton County?

May peaks. Feb dips.

Jan 70
Feb 50
Mar 128
Apr 107
May 162
Jun 105
Jul 81
Aug 57
Sep 58
Oct 76
Nov 74
Dec 53
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Eaton County

4,893 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 865
2022 935
2023 1,148
2024 924
2025 1,021
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 165 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
54%
93
Cause undetermined
9%
16
Intentional / arson
8%
13
Equipment / heat source failure
14%
24
Under investigation
6%
10
Act of nature (lightning)
9%
3
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $2.0M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Eaton County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 59% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $500,000 Charlotte Building fires Major
2 $210,000 Dimondale Building fires Significant
3 $200,000 Wacousta Census Desi Building fires Significant
4 $200,000 Grand Ledge Building fires Significant
5 $200,000 Eaton Rapids Building fires Significant
6 $175,000 Grand Ledge Building fires Significant
7 $150,000 Eaton Rapids Building fires Significant
8 $150,000 DELTA TWP Building fires Significant
9 $137,550 Charlotte Building fires Significant
10 $116,600 Potterville Building fires Significant
06 How Eaton County compares

Eaton County vs MI vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

18.43
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Eaton County
18.43
MI avg
14.06
US avg
7.15
2.98
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Eaton County
2.98
MI avg
2.09
US avg
0.82
18
Civilian fire deaths per million
Eaton County
18
MI avg
13.6
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Eaton County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 26045.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Eaton County

9 departments report from this county.

Delta Twp FD
Lansing
FDID 02304 322 incidents 37 paid
Grand Ledge FD
Grand Ledge
FDID 02306 110 incidents 5 paid
Windsor Twp Emergency Services
Dimondale
FDID 02311 106 incidents 5 paid
Eaton Rapids FD
—
FDID 02305 73 incidents
Bellevue FD
Bellevue
FDID 02301 49 incidents
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in MI

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
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

About this data

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.