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2025 County Report

Fires in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK

In 2025, fire departments serving Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $250K property loss.

5,326 residents FIPS 02198 26 cities · 0 fire depts
Total incidents
13
79 across 5 years
Building fires
6
1 wildland
Property loss
$401K
$293K structure · $108K contents
Casualties
0 / 1
0 civ deaths · 1 civ inj · 0 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.

13
Total Incidents
Building fires 6 46.2%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 2 15.4%
Cooking fire, confined to container 1 7.7%
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 1 7.7%
Grass fire 1 7.7%
All other categories 2 15.4%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area?

Feb peaks. Mar dips.

Jan 1
Feb 3
Mar 0
Apr 0
May 3
Jun 0
Jul 2
Aug 1
Sep 1
Oct 1
Nov 1
Dec 0
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area

79 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 21
2022 13
2023 17
2024 15
2025 13
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 6 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
60%
6
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
20%
2
Equipment / heat source failure
20%
2
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
05 The biggest fires

5 fires · $293K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area during 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $250,000 Klawock Building fires Major
2 $18,000 City of Craig Building fires Significant
3 $15,000 Thorne Bay Building fires Significant
4 $5,000 Kake Building fires Significant
5 $5,000 Klawock Building fires Significant
06 How Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area compares

Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area vs AK vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

2.44
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
2.44
AK avg
8.42
US avg
7.15
1.13
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
1.13
AK avg
1.2
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
0
AK avg
19.5
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area

12 cities mapped to FIPS 02198.

09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in AK

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

#NameYearAgencyAcres
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

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.