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2025 County Report

Fires in Valencia County, NM

In 2025, fire departments serving Valencia County responded to 1,053 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $2.5M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

64,800 residents FIPS 35061 37 cities · 7 fire depts
Total incidents
1,053
5,935 across 5 years
Building fires
121
199 wildland
Property loss
$4.1M
$3.2M structure · $821K contents
Casualties
0 / 16
0 civ deaths · 2 civ inj · 14 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Unauthorized burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.

1,053
Total Incidents
Unauthorized burning 128 12.2%
Building fires 121 11.5%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 101 9.6%
Attempted burning, illegal action, other 75 7.1%
Fire, other 69 6.6%
All other categories 559 53.1%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Valencia County?

Mar peaks. Dec dips.

Jan 82
Feb 98
Mar 181
Apr 129
May 111
Jun 119
Jul 76
Aug 68
Sep 54
Oct 67
Nov 45
Dec 23
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Valencia County

5,935 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 1,184
2022 1,210
2023 1,419
2024 1,069
2025 1,053
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 121 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
21%
74
Cause undetermined
27%
94
Intentional / arson
37%
128
Equipment / heat source failure
3%
11
Under investigation
10%
35
Act of nature (lightning)
2%
3
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $3.2M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Valencia County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 99% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $2,500,000 LOS LUNAS Fires in structures other than in a building Major
2 $209,000 Belen Building fires Significant
3 $180,000 Bosque Farms Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire Significant
4 $100,000 Belen Building fires Significant
5 $75,000 Belen Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle Significant
6 $50,000 WEST MESA Building fires Significant
7 $45,000 Belen Building fires Significant
8 $15,000 Bosque Building fires Significant
9 $15,000 LOS LUNAS Passenger vehicle fire Significant
10 $10,000 JARALES BOSQUE Fires in structures other than in a building Significant
06 How Valencia County compares

Valencia County vs NM vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

16.25
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Valencia County
16.25
NM avg
11.48
US avg
7.15
1.87
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Valencia County
1.87
NM avg
0.72
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Valencia County
0
NM avg
13.2
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Valencia County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 35061.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Valencia County

7 departments report from this county.

Valencia County Fire Department
Los Lunas
FDID 61000 521 incidents
Los Lunas Fire Department
Los Lunas
FDID 61031 150 incidents 13 paid 22 vol
Belen Fire Department
Belen
FDID 61007 113 incidents 7 paid
Highland Meadows Fire Department
LAGUNA
FDID 61014 0 incidents
Los Chavez Fire Department
BELEN
FDID 61025 0 incidents
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in NM

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
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

About this data

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.