In 2025, fire departments serving Meadow Lake responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
231 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | -31.7% | |
| 2023 | 52 | +20.9% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -32.7% | |
| 2025 | 38 | +8.6% |
For the 4 building fires Meadow Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 148 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 | 55 | 37.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 51 | 34.5% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Vacant structural area | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 6.8% |
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 Meadow Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 112 | 75.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Match | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 2.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Meadow Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 92,142 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 17,912 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 13,709 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8,000 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 7,836 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,969 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 5,478 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 3,840 | 32.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,700 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,560 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 2,213 | 25.4 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 | 87031 | 231 |
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Meadow Lake. 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.