In 2025, fire departments serving Lea County responded to 671 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $6.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips.
4,573 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 797 | |
| 2022 | 1,117 | |
| 2023 | 1,057 | |
| 2024 | 931 | |
| 2025 | 671 |
For the 49 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Lea County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 99% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6,000,000 | Eunice | Outside gas or vapor combustion explosion | Catastrophic |
| 2 | $150,000 | Tatum | Special outside fire, other | Significant |
| 3 | $150,000 | Tatum | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $100,000 | City of Lovington | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $75,000 | Hobbs | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $40,000 | City of Lovington | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $20,000 | Hobbs | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 8 | $20,000 | Tatum | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $15,000 | Knowles | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 10 | $10,000 | Lovington | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 35025.
3 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hermits Peak | 2022 | USFS | 341,734 |
| 2 | Black | 2022 | USFS | 325,135 |
| 3 | Calf Canyon | 2022 | USFS | 299,792 |
| 4 | Las Conchas | 2011 | NPS | 156,989 |
| 5 | Donaldson | 2011 | USFS | 96,129 |
| 6 | Johnson | 2021 | USFS | 94,786 |
| 7 | Miller | 2011 | USFS | 88,880 |
| 8 | Miller | 2011 | NPS | 88,817 |
| 9 | Ponil | 2002 | USFS | 86,557 |
| 10 | Pass | 2023 | USFS | 59,934 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.