In 2025, fire departments serving Virginia City responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 85% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
76 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $50K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 10 | -9.1% | |
| 2023 | 14 | +40.0% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +100.0% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -53.6% |
For the 1 building fires Virginia City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Virginia City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 6.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Virginia City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 604,569 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 98,960 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 51,386 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 47,133 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 47,029 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 46,800 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 41,545 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 36,142 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 24,140 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 18,380 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 17,790 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,761 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15,584 | 12.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89440 | 76 |
Six Nevada cities with population within ±25% of Virginia City. 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.