Red Flag Warnings Blanket Five Northern Rockies and Plains States
Critical fire weather triggered Red Flag Warnings across Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and the Dakotas on Sept. 10, capping an active season in the region.
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In 2025, fire departments serving Big Sky responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 79% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
333 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $10.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 76 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | -18.4% | |
| 2023 | 56 | -9.7% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -12.5% | |
| 2025 | 90 | +83.7% |
For the 2 building fires Big Sky departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Outside area, other | 16 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 26.7% |
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 Big Sky mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 20.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Big Sky departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,234 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Big Sky sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
18 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 9 | |
| 40-49 | 9 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 276,595 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 51,555 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 26,873 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 26,600 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 25,828 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Fireworks | 15,341 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 14,000 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 10,850 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 10,800 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 10,515 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8,612 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,300 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 8,224 | 36.4 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Montana cities with population within ±25% of Big Sky. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Big Sky.
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.