In 2025, fire departments serving Buffalo County responded to 185 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips.
1,143 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 258 | |
| 2022 | 329 | |
| 2023 | 126 | |
| 2024 | 245 | |
| 2025 | 185 |
For the 14 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Buffalo County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 93% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Shelton | Rail vehicle fire | Major |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | Riverdale | Grass fire | Major |
| 3 | $600,000 | Riverdale | Grass fire | Major |
| 4 | $600,000 | Riverdale | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $600,000 | Riverdale | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $350,000 | Shelton | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major |
| 7 | $250,000 | Kearney | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $175,000 | Riverdale | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant |
| 9 | $100,000 | Shelton | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 10 | $100,000 | Shelton | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 31019.
8 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Ash | 2012 | USFS | 56,470 |
| 2 | POWDERHORN | 2000 | USFS | 45,765 |
| 3 | Bovee | 2022 | USFS | 18,875 |
| 4 | Spotted Tail #3 | 2006 | USFS | 17,928 |
| 5 | Plum | 1965 | USFS | 13,235 |
| 6 | Roberts Tract | 2006 | USFS | 9,929 |
| 7 | Hay Canyon | 2012 | USFS | 9,882 |
| 8 | Good Friday | 1995 | USFS | 6,853 |
| 9 | Red Kate | 2019 | FWS | 5,035 |
| 10 | Coffee | 1987 | USFS | 4,836 |
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.