ZIP 98231 is served primarily by Whatcom County, WA — including Bellingham. ZIP-level data is sparse — showing the Whatcom County aggregate. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. ZIP-level seasonality is sparse — this is the county aggregate.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types — county-level breakdown.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unauthorized burning | 287 | 22.5% | |
| 2 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | 102 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 83 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Outside rubbish fire, other | 81 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Building fires | 70 | 5.5% |
14 cities sit in Whatcom County. Click for the per-city NFIRS profile.
| # | City | Population | 2025 incidents | Building fires | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bellingham | 91,353 | 500 | 21 | B- |
| 2 | Lynden | 15,723 | 97 | 9 | B |
| 3 | Ferndale | 15,130 | 163 | 10 | B |
| 4 | Birch Bay | 11,142 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 | Sudden Valley | 7,103 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 | Blaine | 5,865 | 144 | 9 | C- |
| 7 | Marietta-Alderwood | 3,304 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | Everson | 2,960 | 60 | 7 | C+ |
| 9 | Peaceful Valley | 2,715 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 10 | Geneva | 2,096 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 11 | Nooksack | 1,564 | 1 | 0 | A+ |
| 12 | Sumas | 1,397 | 37 | 5 | C+ |
| 13 | Point Roberts | 1,249 | 26 | 0 | C |
| 14 | Kendall | 959 | 43 | 0 | C+ |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
This ZIP doesn't have enough NFIRS coverage on its own (under 10 reported incidents across 2021–2025) to publish ZIP-level statistics, so we're showing the Whatcom County aggregate above. NFIRS reporting is voluntary and many rural ZIPs roll up to broader county totals. The ZIP-to-county mapping uses SimpleMaps' uscities.zips dataset.