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In 2025, fire departments serving Palisade responded to 76 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 46% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
382 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 99 | +45.6% | |
| 2023 | 70 | -29.3% | |
| 2024 | 69 | -1.4% | |
| 2025 | 76 | +10.1% |
For the 6 building fires Palisade departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 85 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 | 25 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 15.3% |
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 Palisade mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 34.1% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 14 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Palisade departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Cultivated orchard or vineyard fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Palisade sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 276,088 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 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 36,520 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Natural | 13,920 | 9.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 13,000 | 9.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 5,722 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 5,580 | 26.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 5,343 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,292 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Natural | 4,600 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 4,030 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 3,848 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3,820 | 42.7 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 Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Palisade. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Palisade.
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.