In 2025, fire departments serving Manatee County responded to 1,662 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.8M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Top five categories make up about 41% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips.
11,423 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2,076 | |
| 2022 | 2,637 | |
| 2023 | 2,165 | |
| 2024 | 2,883 | |
| 2025 | 1,662 |
For the 137 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Manatee County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 54% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,782,485 | MYAKKA CITY | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $700,000 | NORTH COUNTY | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $450,000 | PALMETTO | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $350,000 | BRADENTON | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $322,972 | NORTH COUNTY | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $300,000 | BRADENTON CITY | Water vehicle fire | Major |
| 7 | $298,802 | BRADENTON | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $240,000 | PALMETTO | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $200,000 | NORTH COUNTY | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $175,000 | BRADENTON | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 12081.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Bradenton | 55,795 | View › |
| Lakewood Ranch | 34,346 | View › |
| South Bradenton | 25,471 | View › |
| Bayshore Gardens | 18,745 | View › |
| Palmetto | 13,384 | View › |
| Memphis | 10,923 | View › |
| Longboat Key | 7,479 | View › |
| West Samoset | 6,985 | View › |
| Ellenton | 5,391 | View › |
| Whitfield | 5,048 | View › |
| Cortez | 5,033 | View › |
| Samoset | 4,235 | View › |
13 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 | 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 |
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.