In 2025, fire departments serving Moriarty responded to 96 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
611 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $6K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 102 | — | |
| 2022 | 135 | +32.4% | |
| 2023 | 147 | +8.9% | |
| 2024 | 131 | -10.9% | |
| 2025 | 96 | -26.7% |
For the 15 building fires Moriarty departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 240 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 | Outside area, other | 47 | 19.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 38 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 33 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 24 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 20 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 15 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 14 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 12.1% |
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 Moriarty mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 108 | 45.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 24 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 15 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 10 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 10 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 23 | 9.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Moriarty sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 95,956 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 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 13,709 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8,000 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,969 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 6,159 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 5,478 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,000 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 3,000 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 3,000 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,717 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 2,587 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,560 | 29.7 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Moriarty. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Moriarty.
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.