In 2025, fire departments serving Ruidoso Downs responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
May peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
556 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 93 | — | |
| 2022 | 146 | +57.0% | |
| 2023 | 122 | -16.4% | |
| 2024 | 92 | -24.6% | |
| 2025 | 103 | +12.0% |
For the 6 building fires Ruidoso Downs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 7 | 12.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 27.3% |
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 Ruidoso Downs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 49.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 16.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ruidoso Downs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 517,679 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 101,562 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 64,488 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 40,000 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 35,165 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 31,861 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 25,329 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 18,199 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,422 | 5.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 16,141 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 16,034 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 16,020 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15,000 | 28.7 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 | 88346 | 556 |
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Ruidoso Downs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ruidoso Downs.
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.