In 2025, fire departments serving Howard County responded to 212 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $300K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips.
1,483 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 378 | |
| 2022 | 404 | |
| 2023 | 253 | |
| 2024 | 236 | |
| 2025 | 212 |
For the 37 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Howard County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 62% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Big Spring | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major |
| 2 | $250,000 | Big Spring | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Major |
| 3 | $100,000 | Big Spring | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
| 4 | $100,000 | Big Spring | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $85,000 | Big Spring | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $80,000 | Big Spring | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $70,000 | Big Spring | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $60,000 | Big Spring | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 9 | $50,000 | Big Spring | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $50,000 | Big Spring | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
11 cities mapped to FIPS 48227.
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 | Smokehouse Creek | 2024 | SF | 1,054,154 |
| 2 | Rock House | 2011 | NPS | 314,377 |
| 3 | Potter#1FP (Fain Plant) | 2006 | NPS | 22,040 |
| 4 | Cane | 2017 | NPS | 14,240 |
| 5 | WF HOLIDAY 1 & 2 | 2012 | FWS | 14,181 |
| 6 | PAIS Front Country S. FY20 RX (ADD-ON) | 2020 | NPS | 13,339 |
| 7 | Laguna 24 | 2024 | NPS | 12,385 |
| 8 | CUTOFF | 2010 | NPS | 10,280 |
| 9 | WF Unit 1 1/2 | 2015 | FWS | 7,657 |
| 10 | Big Canyon | 1990 | NPS | 7,432 |
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.