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.
CACOOR
In 2025, fire departments serving Del Norte responded to 176 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 98% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,040 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 212 | — | |
| 2022 | 217 | +2.4% | |
| 2023 | 201 | -7.4% | |
| 2024 | 234 | +16.4% | |
| 2025 | 176 | -24.8% |
For the 2 building fires Del Norte departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 6 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Closet | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 26.9% |
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 Del Norte mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 38.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Del Norte departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Del Norte sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 135,200 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Natural | 58,570 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 49,628 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,294 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 6,249 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 3,124 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,183 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 1,417 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 1,182 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 918 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 307 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 247 | 13.0 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 | 81132 | 1,040 |
Six Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Del Norte. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Del Norte.
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.