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 Hartford responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K 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 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
294 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $420K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +8.2% | |
| 2023 | 74 | +12.1% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -28.4% | |
| 2025 | 40 | -24.5% |
For the 6 building fires Hartford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 118 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 | 39 | 33.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 23 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 12.7% |
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 Hartford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 55.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hartford departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hartford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,799 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 1,500 | 15.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,400 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 800 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 600 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 550 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 425 | 15.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 350 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 31.3 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 South Dakota cities with population within ±25% of Hartford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hartford.
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.