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2025 County Report

Fires in Gem County, ID

In 2025, fire departments serving Gem County responded to 205 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $15K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

8,266 residents FIPS 16045 13 cities · 3 fire depts
Total incidents
205
870 across 5 years
Building fires
14
44 wildland
Property loss
$59K
$55K structure · $4K contents
Casualties
0 / 0
0 civ deaths · 0 civ inj · 0 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Grass fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.

205
Total Incidents
Grass fire 25 12.2%
Unauthorized burning 25 12.2%
Authorized controlled burning 24 11.7%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 15 7.3%
Building fires 14 6.8%
All other categories 102 49.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Gem County?

Mar peaks. Nov dips.

Jan 19
Feb 15
Mar 26
Apr 19
May 14
Jun 24
Jul 22
Aug 26
Sep 12
Oct 11
Nov 7
Dec 10
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Gem County

870 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 215
2022 202
2023 167
2024 81
2025 205
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 14 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
74%
32
Cause undetermined
5%
2
Intentional / arson
9%
4
Equipment / heat source failure
12%
5
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
05 The biggest fires

5 fires · $55K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Gem County during 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $15,000 Emmett Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other Significant
2 $15,000 Emmett Passenger vehicle fire Significant
3 $12,000 Emmett Passenger vehicle fire Significant
4 $12,000 Emmett Passenger vehicle fire Significant
5 $500 Emmett Passenger vehicle fire Significant
06 How Gem County compares

Gem County vs ID vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

24.8
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Gem County
24.8
ID avg
8.41
US avg
7.15
1.69
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Gem County
1.69
ID avg
0.8
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Gem County
0
ID avg
4.4
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Gem County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 16045.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Gem County

3 departments report from this county.

Gem County Fire 1
Emmett
FDID 45334 156 incidents 1 paid
Emmett Fire Department
Emmett
FDID 45301 42 incidents 1 paid
Gem County Fire 2
Sweet
FDID 45339 14 incidents 35 vol
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in ID

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

#NameYearAgencyAcres
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

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.