In 2025, fire departments serving Portales responded to 174 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,169 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $125K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 203 | — | |
| 2022 | 327 | +61.1% | |
| 2023 | 253 | -22.6% | |
| 2024 | 212 | -16.2% | |
| 2025 | 174 | -17.9% |
For the 16 building fires Portales departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 278 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 | 117 | 42.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 22 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 56 | 20.1% |
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 Portales mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 170 | 61.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 23 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Match | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 27 | 9.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Portales sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 302,411 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44,162 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32,243 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 26,000 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 24,000 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 18,500 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15,000 | 3.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15,000 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,012 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 11,000 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,000 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 9,000 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 8,000 | 24.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Portales. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Portales.
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.