Senators Warn Federal Firefighting Budget Nearly Exhausted With Fire Season Not Over
Five senators told Interior and USDA the $6 billion FY2026 fire suppression budget was nearly spent by Sept. 2, citing staffing gaps and firefighter deaths.
In 2025, fire departments serving Strasburg responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
427 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 83 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | -20.5% | |
| 2023 | 53 | -19.7% | |
| 2024 | 117 | +120.8% | |
| 2025 | 108 | -7.7% |
For the 10 building fires Strasburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 17 | 34.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 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 Strasburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 44.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Strasburg departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 93% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $73,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Strasburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 92,815 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45,000 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,699 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4,200 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 3,713 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,008 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,000 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,800 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 31.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 1,221 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,200 | 32.1 mi |
Top 6 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 Strasburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Strasburg.
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.