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 Priest River responded to 89 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K 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 72% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
597 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $5.2M cumulative property loss. 6 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 160 | — | |
| 2022 | 122 | -23.8% | |
| 2023 | 125 | +2.5% | |
| 2024 | 101 | -19.2% | |
| 2025 | 89 | -11.9% |
For the 8 building fires Priest River 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 | Undetermined | 31 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 28 | 26.2% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 17.8% |
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 Priest River mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 49.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 11.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Priest River departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $600,000 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Priest River sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 3 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 79,268 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Natural | 12,764 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 7,871 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 7,700 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,850 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 5,298 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,980 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 3,840 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 3,700 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,449 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 3,020 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 2,680 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 2,057 | 37.8 mi |
Top 6 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 Priest River. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Priest River.
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.