ZIP 98240 recorded 33 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 183 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Whatcom County, WA. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
183 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | |
| 2022 | 38 | |
| 2023 | 47 | |
| 2024 | 25 | |
| 2025 | 33 |
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 98240 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unauthorized burning | 30 | 16.4% | |
| 2 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | 23 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Building fires | 20 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Passenger vehicle fire | 17 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | 12 | 6.6% |
For the 2 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 98240 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 34.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 25.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 5 | 11.6% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 60.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 2 | 4.7% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 98240 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 678% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2022 | Major |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 5 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 6 | $35,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 7 | $24,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2021 | Significant |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 98240.
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 183 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.