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2025 County Report

Fires in DeSoto County, FL

In 2025, fire departments serving DeSoto County responded to 5 fire and hazmat incidents. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

15,155 residents FIPS 12027 11 cities · 2 fire depts
Total incidents
5
23 across 5 years
Building fires
0
2 wildland
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Casualties
0 / 0
0 civ deaths · 0 civ inj · 0 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other lead by count. Top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.

5
Total Incidents
Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other 1 20.0%
Passenger vehicle fire 1 20.0%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 1 20.0%
Grass fire 1 20.0%
Authorized controlled burning 1 20.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in DeSoto County?

Jan peaks. Feb dips.

Jan 2
Feb 0
Mar 1
Apr 0
May 0
Jun 1
Jul 1
Aug 0
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in DeSoto County

23 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 4
2022 5
2023 4
2024 5
2025 5
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 0 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
50%
1
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
50%
1
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
06 How DeSoto County compares

DeSoto County vs FL vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

0.33
Incidents per 1,000 residents
DeSoto County
0.33
FL avg
5.32
US avg
7.15
0
Building fires per 1,000 residents
DeSoto County
0
FL avg
0.42
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
DeSoto County
0
FL avg
4.8
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in DeSoto County

11 cities mapped to FIPS 12027.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in DeSoto County

2 departments report from this county.

ARCADIA FIRE DEPT
Arcadia
FDID 34012 0 incidents 16 paid 15 vol
DESOTO COUNTY FIRE RESCUE
Arcadia
FDID 34022 0 incidents
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.