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.
MTWYIDND
In 2025, fire departments serving Deadwood responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Dec peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
171 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +58.3% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +2.6% | |
| 2024 | 44 | +12.8% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -40.9% |
For the 0 building fires Deadwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 6 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 26.9% |
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 Deadwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 42.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Pipe or cigar | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Deadwood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 333,827 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 83,508 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 61,416 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 54,023 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33,000 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 14,990 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 12,443 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,589 | 3.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 7,462 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Other causes | 6,500 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,000 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,700 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 3,959 | 21.0 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 South Dakota cities with population within ±25% of Deadwood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Deadwood.
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.