In 2025, fire departments serving Two Harbors responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
May peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
338 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63 | — | |
| 2022 | 68 | +7.9% | |
| 2023 | 62 | -8.8% | |
| 2024 | 73 | +17.7% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -1.4% |
For the 9 building fires Two Harbors departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | 10 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 35.4% |
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 Two Harbors mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 16 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Two Harbors departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Two Harbors sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,872 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 973 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 487 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 340 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 258 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 257 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 240 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 171 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 150 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 144 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 120 | 46.4 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 | 55616 | 338 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Two Harbors. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.