In 2025, fire departments serving Dona Ana responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Jun peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
130 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $22K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -29.2% | |
| 2023 | 43 | +152.9% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -53.5% | |
| 2025 | 26 | +30.0% |
For the 0 building fires Dona Ana departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | 24 | 45.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 12 | 22.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 15.1% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 1.9% |
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 Dona Ana mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 69.8% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 1.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dona Ana sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 84,652 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Natural | 13,804 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,424 | 20.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 11,856 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,160 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5,045 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,000 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 3,650 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 2,800 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,582 | 17.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 2,400 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,150 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,000 | 27.2 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 New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Dona Ana. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dona Ana.
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.