In 2025, fire departments serving Union County responded to 269 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $275K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips.
1,100 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 198 | |
| 2022 | 234 | |
| 2023 | 199 | |
| 2024 | 200 | |
| 2025 | 269 |
For the 33 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Union County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 97% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | La Grande | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | La Grande | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 3 | $100,000 | La Grande | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $100,000 | La Grande | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $72,000 | La Grande | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 6 | $65,000 | La Grande | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $40,000 | La Grande | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $35,000 | La Grande | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $16,000 | La Grande | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $15,000 | La Grande | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 41061.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bootleg | 2021 | USFS | 413,715 |
| 2 | Saddle Draw | 2014 | BLM | 280,310 |
| 3 | LIONSHEAD | 2020 | BIA | 198,346 |
| 4 | Beachie Creek | 2020 | USFS | 193,565 |
| 5 | Chetco Bar | 2017 | BLM | 190,524 |
| 6 | Monkey Creek | 2024 | BLM | 178,541 |
| 7 | RAIL RIDGE | 2024 | BLM | 176,660 |
| 8 | Double Creek | 2022 | USFS | 175,937 |
| 9 | Klondike | 2018 | BLM | 173,614 |
| 10 | Holiday Farm | 2020 | USFS | 173,392 |
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.