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2025 County Report

Fires in Reno County, KS

In 2025, fire departments serving Reno County responded to 650 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $225K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.

49,059 residents FIPS 20155 26 cities · 11 fire depts
Total incidents
650
3,358 across 5 years
Building fires
82
80 wildland
Property loss
$2.5M
$1.8M structure · $703K contents
Casualties
2 / 11
2 civ deaths · 4 civ inj · 7 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.

650
Total Incidents
Power line down 110 16.9%
Building fires 82 12.6%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 82 12.6%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 67 10.3%
Unauthorized burning 44 6.8%
All other categories 265 40.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Reno County?

Mar peaks. Nov dips.

Jan 43
Feb 57
Mar 95
Apr 58
May 77
Jun 93
Jul 58
Aug 39
Sep 40
Oct 30
Nov 27
Dec 33
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Reno County

3,358 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 617
2022 639
2023 567
2024 885
2025 650
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 82 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
39%
77
Cause undetermined
30%
60
Intentional / arson
5%
10
Equipment / heat source failure
10%
19
Under investigation
9%
18
Act of nature (lightning)
7%
7
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $1.0M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Reno County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 56% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $225,000 TURON Passenger vehicle fire Significant
2 $200,000 PRETTY PRAIRIE Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant
3 $105,200 NICKERSON Fires in structures other than in a building Significant
4 $80,000 HUTCHINSON Building fires Significant
5 $80,000 HUTCHINSON Building fires Significant
6 $76,000 HUTCHINSON Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) Significant
7 $71,540 HUTCHINSON Building fires Significant
8 $60,000 HUTCHINSON Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant
9 $60,000 HUTCHINSON Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant
10 $55,000 HUTCHINSON Building fires Significant
06 How Reno County compares

Reno County vs KS vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

13.25
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Reno County
13.25
KS avg
9.66
US avg
7.15
1.67
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Reno County
1.67
KS avg
0.99
US avg
0.82
40.8
Civilian fire deaths per million
Reno County
40.8
KS avg
8.5
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Reno County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 20155.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Reno County

11 departments report from this county.

Fire Administrative Assitant
Hutchinson
FDID RN101 440 incidents 95 paid
SOUTH HUTCHINSON FIRE DEPT
—
FDID RN416 42 incidents
Reno Co Fire Dist3
Nickerson
FDID RN411 39 incidents 20 vol
Reno Co FIre Dist4
—
FDID RN408 38 incidents 43 vol
RenoKingman Co Fire Dist1
Pretty Prairie
FDID RN415 26 incidents
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in KS

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

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 ANNUAL BUR 1998 NPS 60,039
2 Tunner 2011 USFS 19,656
3 Boiling Springs 2021 PRI 4,571
4 BIG SALT MARSH 2010 FWS 3,697
5 Steeler 2006 USFS 2,380
6 Greenwood 2010 USFS 2,078
7 15 Two Section East Traps 2015 NPS 2,060
8 21 Big South 2021 NPS 1,954
9 Cottonwood 2018 FWS 1,508
10 East Kennedy Creek 2019 PRI 1,115

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.