In 2025, fire departments serving Taos responded to 133 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
818 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 164 | — | |
| 2022 | 193 | +17.7% | |
| 2023 | 155 | -19.7% | |
| 2024 | 173 | +11.6% | |
| 2025 | 133 | -23.1% |
For the 2 building fires Taos departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 118 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 | 26 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Roof surface: exterior | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 22.0% |
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 Taos mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 77 | 65.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 6.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Taos departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $200 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Taos sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 358,045 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Natural | 92,194 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36,740 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28,348 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26,525 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 16,114 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,000 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 12,995 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 11,149 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 10,219 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,142 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,112 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 8,432 | 47.4 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 Taos. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Taos.
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.