In 2025, fire departments serving Grand Forks County responded to 264 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $69K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips.
1,865 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 459 | |
| 2022 | 391 | |
| 2023 | 400 | |
| 2024 | 351 | |
| 2025 | 264 |
For the 16 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Grand Forks County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 91% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $69,000 | Emerado | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $30,000 | GRAND FORKS | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $25,000 | GRAND FORKS | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $25,000 | Thompson | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 5 | $20,000 | GRAND FORKS | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $10,000 | Thompson | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $10,000 | Thompson | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $6,957 | GRAND FORKS | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $6,500 | GRAND FORKS | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $5,000 | GRAND FORKS | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 38035.
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 | Windy | 2021 | USFS | 16,161 |
| 2 | Elkhorn | 2024 | USFS | 10,884 |
| 3 | Pautre | 2013 | USFS | 10,679 |
| 4 | LITTLE SWALLOW | 2021 | BIA | 9,057 |
| 5 | BlackHorseCreek | 2006 | USFS | 7,830 |
| 6 | Mike'SCreek | 1988 | USFS | 5,819 |
| 7 | Hwy31 & 101ST West | 2022 | BIA | 5,289 |
| 8 | Horse Pasture | 2021 | USFS | 4,647 |
| 9 | Roosevelt Creek | 2021 | USFS | 4,580 |
| 10 | RidgeRoad | 2015 | USFS | 3,328 |
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.