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 Wilder responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 44% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
253 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | +74.3% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -29.5% | |
| 2024 | 71 | +65.1% | |
| 2025 | 43 | -39.4% |
For the 2 building fires Wilder departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 114 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 | 39 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 18.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 15 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 8.8% |
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 Wilder mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 46.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Match | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 11.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wilder departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wilder sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 855,137 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Natural | 283,180 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 79,914 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 54,350 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 46,444 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 42,543 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35,194 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 32,812 | 24.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 31,295 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 23,948 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 23,760 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 22,095 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 19,448 | 48.3 mi |
Top 2 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 Wilder. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wilder.
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.