In 2025, fire departments serving Los Alamos responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
356 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $653K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | +1.6% | |
| 2023 | 93 | +50.0% | |
| 2024 | 80 | -14.0% | |
| 2025 | 60 | -25.0% |
For the 2 building fires Los Alamos departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 14.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Office | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 33.3% |
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 Los Alamos mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 14.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Los Alamos departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Los Alamos sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 411,283 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 156,593 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 47,650 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28,348 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 27,100 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 23,938 | 18.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,575 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,995 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 11,149 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10,219 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,112 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 7,165 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 6,529 | 27.3 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 | 87544 | 356 |
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Los Alamos. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Los Alamos.
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.