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2025 County Report

Fires in Alachua County, FL

In 2025, fire departments serving Alachua County responded to 1,806 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

171,024 residents FIPS 12001 68 cities · 10 fire depts
Total incidents
1,806
8,802 across 5 years
Building fires
198
311 wildland
Property loss
$17.2M
$11.5M structure · $5.7M contents
Casualties
4 / 4
4 civ deaths · 3 civ inj · 1 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 45% of all calls.

1,806
Total Incidents
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 213 11.8%
Building fires 198 11.0%
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire 153 8.5%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 147 8.1%
Cooking fire, confined to container 101 5.6%
All other categories 994 55.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Alachua County?

Mar peaks. Dec dips.

Jan 186
Feb 164
Mar 216
Apr 206
May 159
Jun 152
Jul 98
Aug 121
Sep 145
Oct 140
Nov 176
Dec 43
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Alachua County

8,802 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 1,596
2022 1,854
2023 1,538
2024 2,008
2025 1,806
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 198 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
49%
194
Cause undetermined
13%
52
Intentional / arson
9%
34
Equipment / heat source failure
16%
61
Under investigation
11%
45
Act of nature (lightning)
2%
6
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $4.9M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Alachua County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 42% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $1,000,000 Gainesville Building fires Major
2 $750,000 Gainesville Building fires Major
3 $700,000 Newberry Building fires Major
4 $500,000 gainesvilel Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle Major
5 $500,000 Hawthorne Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle Major
6 $500,000 High Springs Fires in structures other than in a building Major
7 $267,817 Gainesville Building fires Major
8 $230,000 Gainesville Building fires Significant
9 $210,000 Gainesville Building fires Significant
10 $200,000 Gainesville Building fires Significant
06 How Alachua County compares

Alachua County vs FL vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

10.56
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Alachua County
10.56
FL avg
5.32
US avg
7.15
1.16
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Alachua County
1.16
FL avg
0.42
US avg
0.82
23.4
Civilian fire deaths per million
Alachua County
23.4
FL avg
4.8
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Alachua County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 12001.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Alachua County

10 departments report from this county.

GAINESVILLE FIRE RESCUE
Gainesville
FDID 11012 812 incidents 146 paid
ALACHUA COUNTY FIRE RESCUE
Gainesville
FDID 11062 775 incidents 135 paid 50 vol
NEWBERRY FIRE RESCUE
Newberry
FDID 11021 65 incidents 16 paid
HIGH SPRINGS VOL FIRE DEPT
HIGH SPRINGS
FDID 11042 32 incidents 15 paid 1 vol
WINDSOR VOL FIRE DEPT
Gainesville
FDID 11051 21 incidents 13 paid
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in FL

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 DOF Prarie Fire 2011 NPS 68,028
2 CP3 RX 2021 NPS 66,918
3 Buzzard 2018 NPS 62,454
4 Tarpon (BIL) 2023 NPS 52,542
5 CP-2 Exotics (BIL) 2023 NPS 49,703
6 EVER CP3 Exotics Rx 2024 NPS 47,986
7 ROG-South (BIL) 2023 NPS 47,619
8 ROG-South/Southern Glades 2020 NPS 43,751
9 BICY Kirby Rx FY24 2024 NPS 39,765
10 Mustang Corner 2008 NPS 39,423

About this data

County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.