Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
Five senators told Interior and USDA the $6 billion FY2026 fire suppression budget was nearly spent by Sept. 2, citing staffing gaps and firefighter deaths.
In 2025, fire departments serving Cedaredge responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
140 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +85.7% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -35.9% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +12.0% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -3.6% |
For the 2 building fires Cedaredge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 31.8% | |
| 2 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 13.6% |
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 Cedaredge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 59.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 4.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cedaredge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 202,774 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Natural | 139,007 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 13,920 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 13,000 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 4,187 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 3,848 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 2,806 | 4.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 2,703 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 2,599 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 2,244 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 1,744 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 1,587 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 1,486 | 38.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81413 | 140 |
Six Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Cedaredge. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cedaredge.
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.