In 2025, fire departments serving Jackson County responded to 8,502 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1000.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
40,297 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7,489 | |
| 2022 | 6,254 | |
| 2023 | 8,461 | |
| 2024 | 9,591 | |
| 2025 | 8,502 |
For the 685 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Jackson County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 97% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $999,999,999 | Kansas City | Building fires | Catastrophic |
| 2 | $9,999,999 | Kansas City | Building fires | Catastrophic |
| 3 | $4,500,000 | Kansas City | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $2,000,000 | Independence | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $1,000,000 | Kansas City | Fire, other | Major |
| 6 | $999,999 | Kansas City | Fire, other | Major |
| 7 | $999,999 | Kansas City | Fire, other | Major |
| 8 | $999,999 | Kansas City | Passenger vehicle fire | Major |
| 9 | $500,000 | Kansas City | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $465,000 | Blue Springs | Building fires | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 29095.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | 505,958 | View › |
| Independence | 122,218 | View › |
| Lee's Summit | 101,728 | View › |
| Blue Springs | 58,720 | View › |
| Raytown | 29,772 | View › |
| Grandview | 25,921 | View › |
| Grain Valley | 15,688 | View › |
| Oak Grove | 8,304 | View › |
| Greenwood | 6,038 | View › |
| Sugar Creek | 3,247 | View › |
| Lake Lotawana | 3,017 | View › |
| Buckner | 2,941 | View › |
4 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 | Minninghaw | 2011 | USFS | 4,762 |
| 2 | Mud Pond | 2011 | USFS | 3,520 |
| 3 | Willie | 2020 | USFS | 2,472 |
| 4 | 23 Thorny Creek BIL RX | 2023 | NPS | 2,223 |
| 5 | Carty | 2015 | USFS | 2,145 |
| 6 | Swan Creek | 2019 | USFS | 2,119 |
| 7 | Rozell | 2018 | USFS | 2,102 |
| 8 | Devreaux | 2023 | USFS | 2,028 |
| 9 | Liberty | 2012 | USFS | 1,623 |
| 10 | Sugar | 2024 | USFS | 1,611 |
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.