In 2025, fire departments serving Thoreau responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
137 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $45K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | +63.6% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -13.9% | |
| 2024 | 19 | -38.7% | |
| 2025 | 29 | +52.6% |
For the 2 building fires Thoreau departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 14 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Vacant structural area | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 15.7% |
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 Thoreau mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 52.9% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Thoreau sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 61,841 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Natural | 15,850 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 9,338 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 8,595 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 5,162 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 3,473 | 13.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,382 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 2,100 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,075 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,701 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,276 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 1,200 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 1,003 | 32.2 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 | 87323 | 137 |
Six New Mexico cities with population within ±25% of Thoreau. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Thoreau.
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.