In 2025, fire departments serving Sumter County responded to 639 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $495K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 45% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips.
3,953 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 402 | |
| 2022 | 981 | |
| 2023 | 978 | |
| 2024 | 953 | |
| 2025 | 639 |
For the 30 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Sumter County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 57% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $495,000 | Wildwood | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | THE VILLAGES | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $200,000 | Oxford | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $150,000 | Webster | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $150,000 | Bushnell | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $119,223 | The Villages | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $90,000 | Lake Panasoffkee | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $86,690 | Center Hill | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 9 | $85,000 | Bushnell | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $80,000 | Wildwood | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 12119.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| The Villages | 79,108 | View › |
| Wildwood | 15,735 | View › |
| Lake Panasoffkee | 4,173 | View › |
| Bushnell | 3,081 | View › |
| Webster | 1,267 | View › |
| Center Hill | 1,129 | View › |
| Coleman | 918 | View › |
| Wahoo | 0 | View › |
| Cumpressco | 0 | View › |
| Royal | 0 | View › |
| Lincoln Park | 0 | View › |
| Moreland Park | 0 | View › |
8 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.