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 Green Mountain Falls responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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 71% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
90 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $181K cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | +26.7% | |
| 2023 | 13 | -31.6% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +69.2% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -4.5% |
For the 2 building fires Green Mountain Falls 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 | 3 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 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 Green Mountain Falls mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 58.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Green Mountain Falls departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Green Mountain Falls sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 322,714 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 137,760 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 42,795 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,947 | 6.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,580 | 14.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 11,875 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,636 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,064 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,355 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,328 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 6,000 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 5,038 | 35.0 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 Green Mountain Falls. 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.