In 2025, fire departments serving Yellville responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 88% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
399 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.7M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 119 | +24.0% | |
| 2023 | 65 | -45.4% | |
| 2024 | 69 | +6.2% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -27.5% |
For the 14 building fires Yellville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 125 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 25 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 12 | 9.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 16.8% |
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 Yellville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 42.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 8.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Yellville departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Yellville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,911 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,983 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,471 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,121 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,101 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2,008 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,653 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 1,631 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,625 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,591 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1,470 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,350 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,340 | 24.9 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 Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Yellville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Yellville.
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.