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 Boulder responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
83 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $736K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | -38.1% | |
| 2023 | 13 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 19 | +46.2% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -10.5% |
For the 3 building fires Boulder departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Boulder mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boulder departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boulder sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 248,207 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 81,220 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 46,298 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 30,000 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 15,000 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 12,457 | 6.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 8,721 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,300 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 5,157 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Firearms and explosives use | 5,019 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 4,400 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 4,325 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 3,789 | 29.5 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 | 59632 | 83 |
Six Montana cities with population within ±25% of Boulder. 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.