In 2025, fire departments serving Kalkaska County responded to 233 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $40K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips.
1,253 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 264 | |
| 2022 | 270 | |
| 2023 | 249 | |
| 2024 | 237 | |
| 2025 | 233 |
For the 54 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Kalkaska County during 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | KALKASKA | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $15,000 | Rapid City | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $15,000 | kalkaska | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $10,000 | Kalkaska | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $5,000 | Rapid City | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $3,000 | Rapid City | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 26079.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Kalkaska | 2,563 | View › |
| Rapid City | 1,196 | View › |
| South Boardman | 613 | View › |
| Manistee Lake | 366 | View › |
| Bear Lake | 301 | View › |
| O'Neil | 0 | View › |
| Leetsville | 0 | View › |
| Fletcher | 0 | View › |
| Spencer | 0 | View › |
| Sigma | 0 | View › |
| Taffeltown | 0 | View › |
| Angling | 0 | View › |
5 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.