In 2025, fire departments serving Stearns County responded to 985 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $640K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips.
4,300 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 915 | |
| 2022 | 892 | |
| 2023 | 828 | |
| 2024 | 680 | |
| 2025 | 985 |
For the 147 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Stearns County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 49% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $640,000 | Avon | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $400,000 | Melrose | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $315,000 | City of Saint Cloud | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $300,000 | Melrose | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $250,000 | Saint Joseph | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $200,000 | City of Freeport | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $200,000 | City of Freeport | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $200,000 | Saint Augusta | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $160,000 | Paynesville | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $150,000 | City of Saint Cloud | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 27145.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| St. Cloud | 68,910 | View › |
| Sartell | 19,382 | View › |
| Waite Park | 8,290 | View › |
| St. Joseph | 7,066 | View › |
| Sauk Centre | 4,568 | View › |
| Cold Spring | 4,180 | View › |
| Melrose | 3,606 | View › |
| St. Augusta | 3,520 | View › |
| Albany | 2,795 | View › |
| Paynesville | 2,432 | View › |
| Rockville | 2,271 | View › |
| Saint John's University | 1,643 | View › |
25 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 | Greenwood | 2021 | USFS | 26,829 |
| 2 | MNGLR-FY21-WF-Oxcart | 2021 | FWS | 12,536 |
| 3 | Palsburg | 2015 | FWS | 4,456 |
| 4 | Agassiz NWR Project RX | 2024 | FWS | 4,208 |
| 5 | MNSBR-FY19-RX-UNIT 4a 6 6a | 2019 | FWS | 2,989 |
| 6 | RL 005 UNIT 8 & 9 | 2021 | BIA | 2,937 |
| 7 | 4 Square Mile RX | 2024 | FWS | 2,481 |
| 8 | RL 029 | 2018 | BIA | 2,360 |
| 9 | Unit 8E RX | 2024 | FWS | 2,241 |
| 10 | MNSBR-FY19-RX-UNIT 7 9 11 | 2019 | FWS | 2,193 |
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.