In 2025, fire departments serving Van Buren County responded to 1,007 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $200K property loss.
Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips.
4,664 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,174 | |
| 2022 | 709 | |
| 2023 | 808 | |
| 2024 | 966 | |
| 2025 | 1,007 |
For the 161 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Van Buren County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 46% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Covert | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $150,000 | Covert | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $150,000 | Paw Paw | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $110,000 | Decatur | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $100,000 | City of Bangor | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 6 | $100,000 | Covert | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $100,000 | Lawrence | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | Grand Junction | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $90,000 | South Haven | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $90,000 | South Haven | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 26159.
11 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.