In 2025, fire departments serving Mitchell responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
84 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $900K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | +100.0% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -54.2% | |
| 2024 | 20 | +81.8% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -15.0% |
For the 2 building fires Mitchell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 12 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 11.5% |
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 Mitchell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 26.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mitchell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 103,530 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 21,080 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 16,000 | 22.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,520 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 9,798 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,000 | 27.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,000 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,850 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 3,600 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 3,500 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,000 | 23.1 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 2,200 | 15.7 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 Nebraska cities with population within ±25% of Mitchell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mitchell.
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.