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 Kalispell responded to 278 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,797 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 369 | — | |
| 2022 | 440 | +19.2% | |
| 2023 | 465 | +5.7% | |
| 2024 | 245 | -47.3% | |
| 2025 | 278 | +13.5% |
For the 33 building fires Kalispell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 399 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 79 | 19.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 48 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 44 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 39 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 25 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 24 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 10 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 96 | 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 Kalispell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 141 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 39 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 25 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 23 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 21 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 18 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 17 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 17 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 15 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 12 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 71 | 17.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kalispell departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $140,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $125,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kalispell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 674,316 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 99,090 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 71,000 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 69,435 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 57,273 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 50,981 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 44,176 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 34,203 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 29,921 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 21,000 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 20,717 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 18,847 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 18,702 | 44.3 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Kalispell.
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.