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In 2025, fire departments serving Lyons responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
251 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 50 | -19.4% | |
| 2023 | 42 | -16.0% | |
| 2024 | 32 | -23.8% | |
| 2025 | 65 | +103.1% |
For the 4 building fires Lyons departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 6 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Closet | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 18.8% |
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 Lyons mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lyons departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lyons sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 405,791 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 208,913 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 87,275 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,833 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,699 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,599 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 7.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 8,908 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,685 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 7.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 9.5 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 Lyons. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lyons.
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.