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.
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In 2025, fire departments serving Greeley responded to 643 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Jul peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
3,108 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $13.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 430 | — | |
| 2022 | 687 | +59.8% | |
| 2023 | 719 | +4.7% | |
| 2024 | 629 | -12.5% | |
| 2025 | 643 | +2.2% |
For the 54 building fires Greeley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 837 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 | 159 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 111 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 78 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 76 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 57 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 38 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 35 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 28 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 21 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 20 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 214 | 25.6% |
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 Greeley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 402 | 48.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 56 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 48 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 39 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 38 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 33 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 29 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 28 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 23 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 20 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 121 | 14.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Greeley departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 68% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Greeley sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 190,421 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Natural | 87,275 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,699 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,599 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 8,908 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,685 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,400 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 3,713 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,498 | 41.9 mi |
Top 10 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 Greeley. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Greeley.
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.