In 2025, fire departments serving Custer County responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $30K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips.
129 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | |
| 2022 | 28 | |
| 2023 | 28 | |
| 2024 | 35 | |
| 2025 | 19 |
For the 2 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Custer County during 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Mackay | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 2 | $2,000 | Mackay | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant |
| 3 | $100 | Mackay | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 16037.
2 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 | Elk Mountain | 2007 | BLM | 578,403 |
| 2 | LONG BUTTE | 2010 | BLM | 305,994 |
| 3 | Mustang Complex | 2012 | USFS | 287,852 |
| 4 | SODA | 2015 | BLM | 279,111 |
| 5 | Diamond Pt Complex | 2000 | USFS | 234,315 |
| 6 | Pioneer | 2016 | USFS | 188,404 |
| 7 | PADDOCK | 2024 | BLM | 187,184 |
| 8 | Halstead | 2012 | USFS | 179,308 |
| 9 | Clear Creek | 2000 | USFS | 164,755 |
| 10 | Moose | 2022 | USFS | 130,197 |
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.