In 2025, fire departments serving Sierra County responded to 160 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $50K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Aug dips.
852 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 163 | |
| 2022 | 154 | |
| 2023 | 186 | |
| 2024 | 189 | |
| 2025 | 160 |
For the 15 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Sierra County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Hillsboro | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $48,000 | City of Elephant But | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 3 | $40,000 | williamsburg | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $25,000 | City of Elephant But | Water vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $25,000 | ELEPHANT BUTTE | Water vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $17,500 | City of Elephant But | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
| 7 | $10,000 | Williamsburg | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 8 | $5,000 | Elephant Butte | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant |
| 9 | $5,000 | Monticello | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $750 | City of Elephant But | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 35051.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Truth or Consequences | 6,030 | View › |
| Elephant Butte | 1,573 | View › |
| Williamsburg | 800 | View › |
| Las Palomas | 288 | View › |
| Hillsboro | 175 | View › |
| Oasis | 116 | View › |
| Kingston | 93 | View › |
| Caballo | 72 | View › |
| Hot Springs Landing | 59 | View › |
| Winston | 32 | View › |
| Monticello | 0 | View › |
| Chloride | 0 | View › |
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hermits Peak | 2022 | USFS | 341,734 |
| 2 | Black | 2022 | USFS | 325,135 |
| 3 | Calf Canyon | 2022 | USFS | 299,792 |
| 4 | Las Conchas | 2011 | NPS | 156,989 |
| 5 | Donaldson | 2011 | USFS | 96,129 |
| 6 | Johnson | 2021 | USFS | 94,786 |
| 7 | Miller | 2011 | USFS | 88,880 |
| 8 | Miller | 2011 | NPS | 88,817 |
| 9 | Ponil | 2002 | USFS | 86,557 |
| 10 | Pass | 2023 | USFS | 59,934 |
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.