ZIP 98248 recorded 165 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 1,023 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Whatcom County, WA. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
1,023 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 251 | |
| 2022 | 193 | |
| 2023 | 211 | |
| 2024 | 203 | |
| 2025 | 165 |
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 98248 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unauthorized burning | 167 | 16.3% | |
| 2 | Building fires | 84 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Grass fire | 63 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Outside rubbish fire, other | 63 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | 62 | 6.1% |
For the 10 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 98248 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 90 | 40.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 11 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 9 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 59 | 26.3% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 136 | 60.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 5.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 11 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 35 | 15.6% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 98248 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 222% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Major |
| 2 | $400,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Major |
| 3 | $325,000 | Building fires | 2021 | Major |
| 4 | $300,000 | Water vehicle fire | 2022 | Major |
| 5 | $300,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Major |
| 6 | $300,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Major |
| 7 | $200,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 8 | $200,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | 2025 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 98248.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferndale | 1,001 | |
| 2 | Bellingham | 10 | |
| 3 | Lynden | 8 | |
| 4 | Blaine | 2 |
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 — 1,023 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.