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 Hill City responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
144 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | -27.3% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -43.8% | |
| 2024 | 31 | +72.2% | |
| 2025 | 19 | -38.7% |
For the 2 building fires Hill City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | Wildland, woods | 52 | 55.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 5.3% |
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 Hill City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 38.3% | |
| 2 | Lightning | 21 | 22.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 19.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hill City departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hill City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 430,475 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 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 61,416 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 54,023 | 12.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33,000 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 18,815 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 17,568 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 14,990 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 14,318 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 12,443 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 11,740 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,589 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10,547 | 40.6 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 Hill City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hill City.
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.