In 2025, fire departments serving Cherokee Village responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $122K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
278 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $932K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | +14.3% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -35.9% | |
| 2024 | 53 | +29.3% | |
| 2025 | 64 | +20.8% |
For the 3 building fires Cherokee Village departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 111 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 | Wildland, woods | 30 | 27.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 24 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 17.1% |
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 Cherokee Village mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 28.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 10 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Match | 7 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cherokee Village departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $122,450 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cherokee Village sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 20,507 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,521 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,779 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,460 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,200 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 1,126 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 928 | 31.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 800 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 780 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 709 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 680 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 666 | 22.5 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Arkansas cities with population within ±25% of Cherokee Village. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.