In 2025, fire departments serving Quartzsite responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
339 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.7M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | +15.5% | |
| 2023 | 81 | -1.2% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -25.9% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -25.0% |
For the 1 building fires Quartzsite departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 258 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 | 54 | 20.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 38 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 35 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 32 | 12.4% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 15 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Other | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 14.0% |
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 Quartzsite mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 161 | 62.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 19 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 12 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Quartzsite departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $70,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Quartzsite sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 58,826 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Firearms and explosives use | 26,000 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,169 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 4,600 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Recreation and ceremony | 4,421 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,360 | 26.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,800 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 1,000 | 19.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 924 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 836 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 15.8 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 Arizona cities with population within ±25% of Quartzsite. 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.