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 Wallace responded to 17 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 65% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
117 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $283K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -25.7% | |
| 2023 | 17 | -34.6% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +29.4% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -22.7% |
For the 1 building fires Wallace departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 7 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 17.9% |
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 Wallace mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 46.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wallace departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wallace sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 271,653 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 99,090 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 28,553 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 24,816 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 16,327 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 13,887 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 8,967 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 7,700 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 7,503 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 7,403 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,839 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 5,298 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,980 | 29.0 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 Idaho cities with population within ±25% of Wallace. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wallace.
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.