In 2025, fire departments serving Chaffee County responded to 376 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $75K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips.
1,104 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 210 | |
| 2022 | 247 | |
| 2023 | 78 | |
| 2024 | 193 | |
| 2025 | 376 |
For the 5 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Chaffee County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Buena Vista | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 2 | $60,000 | Buena Vista | Fire, other | Significant |
| 3 | $10,000 | SALIDA | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $5,000 | Salida | Outside storage fire | Significant |
| 5 | $5,000 | Poncha Springs | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $3,000 | Buena Vista | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $2,000 | Salida | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant |
| 8 | $1,400 | SALIDA | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 9 | $1,000 | SALIDA | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $500 | BUENA VISTA | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 08015.
3 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 | Cameron Peak | 2020 | USFS | 208,912 |
| 2 | Pine Gulch | 2020 | BLM | 138,802 |
| 3 | Hayman | 2002 | USFS | 137,760 |
| 4 | Spring Creek | 2018 | BLM | 108,045 |
| 5 | High Park | 2012 | BLM | 87,306 |
| 6 | MISSIONARY RIDGE | 2002 | USFS | 70,480 |
| 7 | WEST FORK | 2013 | USFS | 56,575 |
| 8 | 416 | 2018 | USFS | 54,130 |
| 9 | Papoose | 2013 | USFS | 49,282 |
| 10 | Bridger | 2008 | BLM | 46,588 |
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.