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In 2025, fire departments serving Lone Tree responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $76K 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 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
311 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $634K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | +1.4% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -34.7% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +14.3% | |
| 2025 | 57 | +1.8% |
For the 2 building fires Lone Tree departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 113 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 | 33 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 33 | 29.2% | |
| 3 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 9 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 9.7% |
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 Lone Tree mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 46.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lone Tree departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $76,370 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,113 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lone Tree sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 240,420 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 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,947 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,580 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 11,875 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 4,142 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,085 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,008 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 2,312 | 35.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Lone Tree. 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.