In 2025, fire departments serving Algodones responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Natural vegetation fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
54 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $251 cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | — | |
| 2022* | 4 | — | |
| 2023 | 9 | — | |
| 2024 | 23 | +155.6% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -52.2% |
* Well below Algodones's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 0 building fires Algodones departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 7.1% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Algodones mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Match | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Algodones departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Algodones sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 369,608 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 156,593 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 47,650 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 27,100 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 23,938 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 17,912 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,575 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 13,709 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,112 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8,000 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 5,478 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,185 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 4,303 | 26.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 87001 | 54 |
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Algodones. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.