Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
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In 2025, fire departments serving Severance responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 43% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
224 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | -15.6% | |
| 2023 | 45 | +18.4% | |
| 2024 | 54 | +20.0% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -22.2% |
For the 0 building fires Severance departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | 22 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 14.7% |
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 Severance mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Severance departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Severance sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 190,421 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Natural | 87,275 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,699 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,599 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 8,908 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,685 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,400 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 3,713 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,498 | 38.5 mi |
Top 7 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 Severance. 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.