In 2025, fire departments serving Hawley responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 67% of all calls.
May peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
134 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $482K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | — | |
| 2023* | 16 | — | |
| 2024 | 55 | — | |
| 2025 | 27 | -50.9% |
* Well below Hawley's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 5 building fires Hawley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | 13 | 36.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 22.2% |
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 Hawley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hawley departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hawley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 28,376 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,855 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,425 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 1,800 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 1,593 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1,540 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,400 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,200 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,185 | 24.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,155 | 6.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,122 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 26.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 990 | 18.0 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 | 56549 | 134 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Hawley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.