ZIP 98281 recorded 26 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 223 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Whatcom County, WA. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
223 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | |
| 2022 | 80 | |
| 2023 | 50 | |
| 2024 | 36 | |
| 2025 | 26 |
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 98281 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unauthorized burning | 50 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Authorized controlled burning | 39 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Power line down | 34 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 18 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | 9 | 4.0% |
For the 0 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 98281 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 20 | 46.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 16.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 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 | Match | 17 | 39.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 34.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 2 | 4.7% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 98281 across 2021–2025. These 6 fires alone account for 4178% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 2 | $8,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2022 | Significant |
| 3 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 4 | $300 | Authorized controlled burning | 2025 | Significant |
| 5 | $60 | Natural vegetation fire, other | 2021 | Significant |
| 6 | $1 | Unauthorized burning | 2025 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 98281.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Roberts | 223 |
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 — 223 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.