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 Havre responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K building blaze. 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 60% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
368 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | +17.2% | |
| 2023 | 73 | -2.7% | |
| 2024 | 73 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 83 | +13.7% |
For the 3 building fires Havre departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 108 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 | 19 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 15 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 8 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 24.1% |
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 Havre mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 5 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 15.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Havre departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,280 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $300 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Havre sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 59,713 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,915 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 7,963 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 4,805 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 3,670 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 3,000 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,087 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,034 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,847 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,760 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1,537 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 37.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 1,200 | 17.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 59501 | 368 |
Six Montana cities with population within ±25% of Havre. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Havre.
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.