In 2025, fire departments serving Luray responded to 76 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $260K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Dec peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
232 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 17 | — | |
| 2022* | 25 | — | |
| 2023 | 40 | — | |
| 2024 | 74 | +85.0% | |
| 2025 | 76 | +2.7% |
* Well below Luray'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 10 building fires Luray departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | Undetermined | 36 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Multiple areas | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 8.1% |
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 Luray mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 41 | 66.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Luray departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $260,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $27,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Luray sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 70,827 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 16,021 | 8.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,326 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 6,131 | 11.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,200 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,717 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2,564 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2,206 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 2,138 | 5.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Other causes | 1,989 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,935 | 5.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 47.8 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 Virginia cities with population within ±25% of Luray. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Luray.
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.