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In 2025, fire departments serving Colorado City responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $23K 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 73% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
123 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $256K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 26 | -3.7% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -19.2% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +4.8% |
For the 0 building fires Colorado City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 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 | 58.3% | |
| 2 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 8.3% |
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 Colorado City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 83.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Colorado City departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $23,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Colorado City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 286,789 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 107,995 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 42,795 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 18,320 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 13,820 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 13,572 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 11,357 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,636 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,064 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,328 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 6,249 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,232 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 5,038 | 44.3 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 Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Colorado City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Colorado 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.