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 Middleton responded to 99 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
466 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 99 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | -25.3% | |
| 2023 | 93 | +25.7% | |
| 2024 | 101 | +8.6% | |
| 2025 | 99 | -2.0% |
For the 4 building fires Middleton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 107 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 | 30 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 16 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 16 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 16.8% |
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 Middleton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 43.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Middleton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Middleton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,195,243 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Natural | 283,180 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 188,404 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 177,544 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 79,914 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 54,350 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 46,444 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 42,543 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35,194 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 32,812 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 31,295 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 30,655 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 22,095 | 39.7 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Idaho cities with population within ±25% of Middleton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Middleton.
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.