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 Richardton responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $140K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
70 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $616K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | -27.8% | |
| 2023* | 5 | — | |
| 2024 | 12 | — | |
| 2025 | 22 | +83.3% |
* Well below Richardton'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 4 building fires Richardton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | 14 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 21.7% |
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 Richardton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 28.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Richardton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $65,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Richardton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,739 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,866 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 6.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 800 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 645 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 640 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 550 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 425 | 20.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 400 | 47.5 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 | 58652 | 70 |
Six North Dakota cities with population within ±25% of Richardton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Richardton.
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.