In 2025, fire departments serving Luther responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M 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 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
253 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | -26.5% | |
| 2023 | 72 | +100.0% | |
| 2024 | 46 | -36.1% | |
| 2025 | 50 | +8.7% |
For the 3 building fires Luther departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 117 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 | 30 | 25.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 19 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 9.4% |
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 Luther mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 47.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Luther departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Luther sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 204,240 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Smoking | 58,501 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26,000 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 16,423 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,954 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8,600 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,887 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,580 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,400 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 6,152 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,900 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,760 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,000 | 37.9 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.
Six Oklahoma cities with population within ±25% of Luther. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Luther.
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.