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.
In 2025, fire departments serving New Plymouth responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. New Plymouth's departments reported 23 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 48 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
242 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $20K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | -13.6% | |
| 2023 | 55 | +7.8% | |
| 2024 | 54 | -1.8% | |
| 2025* | 23 | — |
* Well below New Plymouth's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 14 building fires New Plymouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 135 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 | 65 | 48.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 15 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 11.1% |
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 New Plymouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 75 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 22 | 16.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Plymouth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 629,191 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Natural | 79,914 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 54,350 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 46,444 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 42,543 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35,194 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 32,812 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 31,295 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 30,655 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 25,280 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 24,900 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 23,760 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 22,095 | 27.8 mi |
Top 5 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 New Plymouth. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Plymouth.
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.