ZIP 50588 recorded 169 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 377 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Buena Vista County, IA.
377 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | |
| 2022 | 68 | |
| 2023 | 62 | |
| 2024 | 52 | |
| 2025 | 169 |
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 50588 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 62 | 16.4% | |
| 2 | Power line down | 45 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Building fires | 26 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Grass fire | 25 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | 25 | 6.6% |
For the 13 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 50588 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 30.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 10 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 11 | 14.7% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 41.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 18.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 11 | 14.7% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 50588 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 375% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $110,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2022 | Significant |
| 2 | $100,500 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 3 | $45,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 4 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | 2022 | Significant |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 8 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2023 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 50588.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Storm Lake | 372 | |
| 2 | Lakeside | 4 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 377 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.