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.
MTWYIDND
In 2025, fire departments serving Watford City responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
309 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -14.1% | |
| 2023 | 51 | -7.3% | |
| 2024 | 72 | +41.2% | |
| 2025 | 67 | -6.9% |
For the 6 building fires Watford City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 202 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 | 37 | 18.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 33 | 16.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 21 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 50 | 24.8% |
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 Watford City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 50 | 24.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 44 | 21.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 21 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 17 | 8.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Watford City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $38,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $12,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Watford City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 95,911 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 51,627 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,500 | 31.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 7,979 | 5.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,907 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,328 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 3,317 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,180 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,883 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,580 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 900 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 750 | 30.3 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 | 58854 | 309 |
Six North Dakota cities with population within ±25% of Watford City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Watford City.
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.