In 2025, fire departments serving Winona responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $55K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
373 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | -13.5% | |
| 2023 | 99 | +120.0% | |
| 2024 | 109 | +10.1% | |
| 2025 | 68 | -37.6% |
For the 6 building fires Winona departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 122 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 | 77 | 63.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 13.9% |
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 Winona mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 86 | 70.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Winona departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $55,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $55,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Winona sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,074 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,208 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 700 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 626 | 13.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 583 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 485 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 475 | 23.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 473 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 472 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 450 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 416 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 17.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 400 | 38.4 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 | 38967 | 373 |
Six Mississippi cities with population within ±25% of Winona. 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.