Seattle's verified encampment fires fell by half; calls for trash and open fires didn't

From 2022 to 2025, the fires the Seattle Fire Department verified at tent and RV encampments fell by about half, from 1,617 to 830. Over the same years, 911 calls it dispatched as illegal burns, rubbish fires or encampment fires stayed between 4,405 and 4,610 a year. The two counts use different rules, so the gap between them is not a count of fires away from encampments.

Annotations

• Two different counts: calls by what the caller reported; fires verified at a tent or RV: The lines are not matched call by call; a verified encampment fire can be dispatched under any call type.