In 2025, fire departments serving Missoula County responded to 299 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $300K 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 55% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips.
3,165 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 876 | |
| 2022 | 839 | |
| 2023 | 777 | |
| 2024 | 374 | |
| 2025 | 299 |
For the 14 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Missoula County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 98% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Lolo | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $125,000 | Bonner | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $100,000 | Lolo | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
| 4 | $50,000 | Missoula | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $40,000 | Missoula | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $40,000 | Missoula | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $30,000 | Missoula | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $25,000 | Lolo | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $15,000 | Milltown | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $10,000 | Lolo | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 30063.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Missoula | 74,627 | View › |
| Orchard Homes | 5,265 | View › |
| Lolo | 4,573 | View › |
| East Missoula | 2,105 | View › |
| Seeley Lake | 1,590 | View › |
| Frenchtown | 1,570 | View › |
| Bonner-West Riverside | 1,281 | View › |
| Wye | 1,074 | View › |
| Clinton | 745 | View › |
| Piltzville | 650 | View › |
| Evaro | 505 | View › |
| Carlton | 471 | View › |
11 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 | Lodgepole Complex | 2017 | BLM | 271,420 |
| 2 | Derby | 2006 | USFS | 207,237 |
| 3 | Rice Ridge | 2017 | USFS | 160,001 |
| 4 | Pine Ridge Complex | 2006 | BLM | 114,655 |
| 5 | Dunn Mountain | 2008 | BLM | 102,324 |
| 6 | SartinDraw | 2017 | USFS | 99,713 |
| 7 | TaylorCreek | 2012 | USFS | 62,148 |
| 8 | Trail Creek | 2021 | USFS | 62,012 |
| 9 | Stag | 2000 | USFS | 61,727 |
| 10 | StormCreek | 1988 | USFS | 58,721 |
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.