In 2025, fire departments serving Nome Census Area responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $250K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Apr dips.
173 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | |
| 2022 | 34 | |
| 2023 | 30 | |
| 2024 | 40 | |
| 2025 | 42 |
For the 13 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Nome Census Area during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 99% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Unalakleet | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $100,000 | City of Nome | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $50,000 | Elim | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $25,000 | City of Nome | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $15,000 | City of Nome | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 6 | $15,000 | Unalakleet | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $10,000 | City of Nome | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 8 | $7,500 | City of Nome | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $2,000 | Gambell | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $2,000 | Elim | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 02180.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Nome | 3,710 | View › |
| Savoonga | 823 | View › |
| Unalakleet | 743 | View › |
| Stebbins | 654 | View › |
| Brevig Mission | 625 | View › |
| Shishmaref | 568 | View › |
| Gambell | 426 | View › |
| Shaktoolik | 312 | View › |
| St. Michael | 308 | View › |
| Koyuk | 300 | View › |
| Wales | 294 | View › |
| Elim | 293 | View › |
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 832015 | 1988 | AFS | 558,928 |
| 2 | Minto Flats South | 2009 | DVF | 534,911 |
| 3 | FYU NE 85 | 1990 | BLM | 433,768 |
| 4 | BEAR CREEK | 1977 | AFS | 374,389 |
| 5 | Simels | 1997 | BLM | 347,860 |
| 6 | Big Creek Two | 2015 | BLM | 312,918 |
| 7 | BTTS S 40 | 1990 | BLM | 289,913 |
| 8 | 032018 | 1990 | BLM | 287,704 |
| 9 | 832064 | 1988 | AFS | 284,466 |
| 10 | Sushgitit Hills | 2015 | BLM | 276,038 |
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.