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In 2025, fire departments serving Loma responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
207 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 44 | +46.7% | |
| 2024 | 35 | -20.5% | |
| 2025 | 53 | +51.4% |
For the 2 building fires Loma departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 13.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 11.8% |
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 Loma mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Loma departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $14,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Loma sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 346,819 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Natural | 139,007 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 88,420 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 20,049 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 13,920 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 13,000 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 5,722 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 5,580 | 15.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 5,343 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,292 | 31.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 4,600 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,580 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,820 | 18.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81524 | 207 |
Six Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Loma. 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.