In 2025, fire departments serving Aztec responded to 210 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
689 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 118 | — | |
| 2022 | 97 | -17.8% | |
| 2023 | 86 | -11.3% | |
| 2024 | 178 | +107.0% | |
| 2025 | 210 | +18.0% |
For the 8 building fires Aztec departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | Undetermined | 16 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 15.1% |
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 Aztec mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 14.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Aztec departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Aztec sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 206,133 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 73,121 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54,129 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 23,220 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 10,133 | 36.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 7,271 | 20.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 4,781 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,593 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 3,888 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 2,905 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 2,744 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,601 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 2,381 | 33.1 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 | 87410 | 689 |
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Aztec. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Aztec.
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.