In 2025, fire departments serving Boulder City responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $125K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
326 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $6.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | -19.5% | |
| 2023 | 51 | -17.7% | |
| 2024 | 66 | +29.4% | |
| 2025 | 70 | +6.1% |
For the 9 building fires Boulder City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 137 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 35 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 10 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 19.7% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Boulder City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 39.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 14.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boulder City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $99,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $65,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boulder City sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 232,052 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Natural | 40,402 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 33,569 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 22,477 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 22,000 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 21,276 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 18,082 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 12,637 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 11,927 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 5,700 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 4,465 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,340 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 4,300 | 45.9 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Nevada cities with population within ±25% of Boulder City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Boulder City.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 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. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.