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In 2025, fire departments serving Steamboat Springs responded to 169 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $994K 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 60% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
770 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10.2M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109 | — | |
| 2022 | 150 | +37.6% | |
| 2023 | 178 | +18.7% | |
| 2024 | 164 | -7.9% | |
| 2025 | 169 | +3.0% |
For the 6 building fires Steamboat Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 121 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 19.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 17 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 13 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 31.4% |
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 Steamboat Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 39.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 14 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 14.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Steamboat Springs departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $994,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Steamboat Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 391,607 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 193,812 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 38,380 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 28,584 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 20,517 | 10.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 20,120 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 17,056 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 16,852 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 14,403 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 5,538 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,400 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 4,222 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,128 | 39.9 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 Steamboat Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Steamboat Springs.
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.