In 2025, fire departments serving Bayard responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
123 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $804K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | -11.1% | |
| 2023 | 27 | +12.5% | |
| 2024 | 27 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -33.3% |
For the 9 building fires Bayard departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Vacant structural area | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 27.6% |
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 Bayard mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 41.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 10.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bayard sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 904,644 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Natural | 234,000 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 88,835 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 77,000 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 65,000 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 37,600 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 34,941 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 32,000 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 29,000 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 29,000 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 27,600 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 25,950 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 25,000 | 38.2 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 | 88023 | 123 |
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Bayard. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bayard.
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.