Seattle's 911 calls for trash and open fires hit a record in 2026

What this chart asks

How many 911 calls for illegal burns, rubbish fires and encampment fires did the Seattle Fire Department dispatch from January to October of each year?

Why it is shown this way

• Stacked bars show the total each year, so the 2026 record is visible, and how it splits by call type.
• The encampment fire layer appears in 2021 and nearly vanishes by 2026 while illegal burn calls grow, so readers can see the call type fade without the total falling.
• January to October is used every year so 2026, which runs only through October, compares with the same months.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

Encampment fire call type added (Aug. 2021)

2021

Before August 2021, fires at encampments were dispatched under other call types, such as illegal burn or rubbish fire.

Why this is marked: Explains why the encampment fire layer starts in 2021: the dispatch log first uses that call type on August 6, 2021.

Data and accessibility

The chart's data and images are in the strip under it.

Dataset seattle-fire-911-trash-open-burn-calls, analysis calls-janoct-by-type

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Seattle Fire Department 911 calls for illegal burns, rubbish fires and encampment fires, 2004 to 2026

1. City of Seattle open data portal, Seattle Real Time Fire 911 Calls (dataset kzjm-xkqj), published by the Seattle Fire Department Every incident the Seattle Fire Department dispatched since November 2003, with its dispatch call type, time and location; counted here through its public API (https://data.seattle.gov/resource/kzjm-xkqj.json)

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public domain (City of Seattle open data). Public open data; FactHub publishes only yearly counts it computed.

   Reliability: Government. The fire department's own dispatch log, updated about every five minutes. The call type comes from what the caller reported when the unit was sent, not the cause found on scene.

2. Office of the Mayor, City of Seattle: One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan posts Q4 data updates (January 27, 2023) Fires at tent and RV encampments in 2022

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the figures it read.

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The mayor's office reporting results of its own homelessness plan, using Seattle Fire Department data. It counts fires at tent and RV encampments, a later judgment separate from the dispatch call type.

3. Office of the Mayor, City of Seattle: One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan posts Q4 and year-end 2023 data (February 17, 2024) Fires at tent and RV encampments in 2023

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the figures it read.

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The mayor's office reporting results of its own homelessness plan, using Seattle Fire Department data. It counts fires at tent and RV encampments, a later judgment separate from the dispatch call type.

4. Office of the Mayor, City of Seattle: One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan posts Q1 2024 data updates (May 17, 2024) Fires at tent and RV encampments, January to March 2024

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the figures it read.

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The mayor's office reporting results of its own homelessness plan, using Seattle Fire Department data. It counts fires at tent and RV encampments, a later judgment separate from the dispatch call type.

5. Office of the Mayor, City of Seattle: One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan posts Q3 2024 data updates (December 3, 2024) Fires at tent and RV encampments, April to June and July to September 2024

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the figures it read.

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The mayor's office reporting results of its own homelessness plan, using Seattle Fire Department data. It counts fires at tent and RV encampments, a later judgment separate from the dispatch call type.

6. City of Seattle Human Services Department, UCT Quarterly Reporting (Response to Statement of Legislative Intent MO-004S-A), 2025 end-of-year report Verified encampment and RV fires in 2024 and 2025, and by quarter in 2025 (Figure 23)

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the figures it read.

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The Human Services Department's quarterly report to the City Council on its encampment outreach team, with fires the Seattle Fire Department verified at tent or RV encampments. It reports the results of the city's own encampment work.

7. City of Seattle Human Services Department, UCT Quarterly Reporting (Response to Statement of Legislative Intent MO-004S-A), August 14, 2026 Verified encampment and RV fires, January to June 2026 (Figure 23)

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the figures it read.

   Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. The Human Services Department's quarterly report to the City Council on its encampment outreach team, with fires the Seattle Fire Department verified at tent or RV encampments. It reports the results of the city's own encampment work.

8. Washington State Office of Financial Management, April 1 official population estimates of cities, towns and counties (ofm_april1_population_final.xlsx) Seattle population on April 1 of each year, 2020 (census) to 2026

   Retrieved November 9, 2026. Public government data. Linked; FactHub repeats only the Seattle figures it read.

   Reliability: Government. The state agency whose yearly city estimates are used to share out state revenue; 2020 is the census count.

Limitations

• A dispatch call type records what the caller reported, not the cause found on scene; a call is not a confirmed fire or a confirmed encampment fire.
• Illegal burns include cooking, warming and backyard fires.
• Other outdoor fire types (brush, bark, dumpster) are not included.
• The dispatch log can be revised; counted on November 9, 2026.
• Counts are not adjusted for population: per 1,000 residents, 2022 (4.73) was higher than 2026 (4.63).