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In 2025, fire departments serving Leadville responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 61% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
331 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $49K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | — | |
| 2022 | 69 | -11.5% | |
| 2023 | 56 | -18.8% | |
| 2024 | 57 | +1.8% | |
| 2025 | 71 | +24.6% |
For the 3 building fires Leadville 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 | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 29.0% |
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 Leadville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Leadville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Leadville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 195,226 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 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,833 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 13,023 | 17.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,070 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,400 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 2,312 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,452 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 1,322 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1,232 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 974 | 44.8 mi |
Top 3 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 Leadville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Leadville.
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.