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 Preston responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
367 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $4.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 98 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | -24.5% | |
| 2023 | 63 | -14.9% | |
| 2024 | 66 | +4.8% | |
| 2025 | 66 | +0.0% |
For the 6 building fires Preston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 117 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 12 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 22.2% |
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 Preston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 28.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 18 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Preston departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $90,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $32,250 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Preston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 278,492 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 31,568 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 31,395 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 20,616 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 19,482 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 15,046 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13,784 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 13,763 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 12,498 | 36.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 12,265 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Natural | 11,200 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 10,500 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 9,674 | 26.5 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 | 83263 | 367 |
Six Idaho cities with population within ±25% of Preston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Preston.
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.