In 2025, fire departments serving Wayzata responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 85% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
233 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $413K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | +58.3% | |
| 2023 | 51 | -10.5% | |
| 2024 | 55 | +7.8% | |
| 2025 | 34 | -38.2% |
For the 4 building fires Wayzata departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 8 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Wayzata mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Incendiary device | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wayzata departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wayzata sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,645 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,000 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 420 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 336 | 25.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 320 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 306 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 290 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 280 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 260 | 44.2 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 | 55391 | 233 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Wayzata. 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.