Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
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In 2025, fire departments serving Fraser responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. 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 70% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
191 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $717K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | +9.1% | |
| 2023 | 45 | +25.0% | |
| 2024 | 34 | -24.4% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +26.5% |
For the 3 building fires Fraser departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 8 | 25.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 25.8% |
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 Fraser mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 25.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fraser departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $16,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fraser sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 526,338 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 208,913 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 193,812 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 20,120 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,833 | 14.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 11,875 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,599 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 4,142 | 46.2 mi |
Top 5 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 Fraser. 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.