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 Columbus responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $125K 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 47% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
235 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $776K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | -13.7% | |
| 2023 | 47 | +6.8% | |
| 2024 | 46 | -2.1% | |
| 2025 | 47 | +2.2% |
For the 1 building fires Columbus departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 18.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 14.5% |
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 Columbus mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 35.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 17.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Columbus departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $250 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $250 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Columbus sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 364,078 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 207,115 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 36,180 | 22.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 14,890 | 37.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 12,500 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,173 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,870 | 8.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 6,343 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,859 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 5,495 | 10.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 5,086 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 4,680 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 4,500 | 36.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Columbus. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Columbus.
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.