In 2025, fire departments serving Laughlin responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $28K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 46% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
326 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $465K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | -15.2% | |
| 2023 | 59 | +5.4% | |
| 2024 | 79 | +33.9% | |
| 2025 | 66 | -16.5% |
For the 3 building fires Laughlin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 104 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 14 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 22.1% |
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 Laughlin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 32.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 24 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Laughlin departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Laughlin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 194,509 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Natural | 63,436 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 22,477 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 21,276 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 12,637 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 11,927 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 6,083 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 5,413 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 5,059 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 5,000 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 3,887 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 3,800 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,703 | 30.5 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Nevada cities with population within ±25% of Laughlin. 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.