In 2025, fire departments serving Gunnison responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fires in structures other than in a building lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
40 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $92K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 10 | -9.1% | |
| 2023* | 4 | — | |
| 2024 | 5 | — | |
| 2025 | 10 | +100.0% |
* Well below Gunnison's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 0 building fires Gunnison departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | 7 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Other | 6 | 28.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Gunnison mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Match | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gunnison departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Hazardous condition, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gunnison sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 845,999 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 107,847 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 102,191 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 89,148 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 78,065 | 34.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 58,707 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 48,986 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47,387 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 37,923 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 33,838 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 28,442 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25,456 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 18,750 | 26.9 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 Utah cities with population within ±25% of Gunnison. 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.