In 2025, fire departments serving Northwest Arctic Borough responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $275K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips.
99 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | |
| 2022 | 17 | |
| 2023 | 22 | |
| 2024 | 16 | |
| 2025 | 20 |
For the 10 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Northwest Arctic Borough during 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | City of Kotzebue | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $45,000 | Noorvik | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $25,000 | City of Kotzebue | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $2,500 | City of Kotzebue | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $500 | Kiana | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $200 | City of Kotzebue | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $200 | Noorvik | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $100 | City of Kotzebue | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 02188.
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.