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 Burlington responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
174 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $10K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | -57.1% | |
| 2023 | 33 | +37.5% | |
| 2024 | 26 | -21.2% | |
| 2025 | 35 | +34.6% |
For the 6 building fires Burlington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 19.6% |
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 Burlington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burlington departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burlington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,050 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,500 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 6,070 | 27.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,100 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 1.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,701 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1,240 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,100 | 5.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,011 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 800 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 700 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 45.1 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six North Dakota cities with population within ±25% of Burlington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Burlington.
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.