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In 2025, fire departments across Colorado responded to 40,200 fire and hazmat incidents — including the Cameron Peak wildfire that burned 208,913 acres in 2020.
Colorado ranks #12 in cumulative acres burned in the NIFC perimeter atlas. Hover any state to compare; click to drill in.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories cover roughly 43% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. (Latest year: 2025.)
5-year cumulative seasonality smooths out single-year noise. Jul peaks across the window; Feb dips.
206,003 incidents from 2021 through 2025 across all reporting departments.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38,928 | |
| 2022 | 43,937 | |
| 2023 | 38,717 | |
| 2024 | 44,221 | |
| 2025 | 40,200 |
For the 2,682 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Combined NFIRS + FPA-FOD totals across the available reporting window. Click a cause to see how it plays out nationwide.
| # | Cause | Incidents | FOD vs NFIRS | Acres | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined / missing | 44,338 | 32,009 / 12,329 | 1,200,959 | |
| 2 | Natural (lightning) | 25,097 | 23,798 / 1,299 | 1,493,330 | |
| 3 | Arson / incendiarism | 9,377 | 1,191 / 8,186 | 124,734 | |
| 4 | Equipment & vehicle use | 6,984 | 2,040 / 4,944 | 108,270 | |
| 5 | Recreation & ceremony | 4,435 | 4,435 / 0 | 344,462 | |
| 6 | Smoking | 1,936 | 1,936 / 0 | 29,546 | |
| 7 | Debris & open burning | 1,704 | 1,704 / 0 | 64,510 | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 580 | 580 / 0 | 1,551 | |
| 9 | Other causes | 347 | 54 / 293 | 662 | |
| 10 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 330 | 330 / 0 | 2,101 | |
| 11 | Power generation / utility | 287 | 287 / 0 | 37,702 | |
| 12 | Railroad operations | 198 | 198 / 0 | 4,311 |
Topical groupings of NFIRS incident types — building, cooking, electrical, vehicle, and more. Each links to its national rollup.
| # | Topic | Incidents | Loss | Deaths | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outdoor fires | 57,485 | $31.8M | 4 | |
| 2 | Gas leaks | 51,751 | $561K | 0 | |
| 3 | Building fires | 28,481 | $1.1B | 89 | |
| 4 | Wildland fires | 24,390 | $28.1M | 4 | |
| 5 | Rubbish / refuse | 23,527 | $5.7M | 0 | |
| 6 | Electrical / wiring | 17,535 | $194K | 0 | |
| 7 | Vehicle fires | 12,178 | $121.8M | 35 | |
| 8 | Cooking-related | 6,577 | $1.1M | 0 | |
| 9 | Arson | 4,466 | $19.9M | 3 |
Largest single-incident property losses statewide in 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 15% of Colorado's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6,000,000 | VAIL | Building fires | Catastrophic |
| 2 | $3,000,000 | Denver | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $3,000,000 | VAIL | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $2,965,056 | Centennial | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $2,500,000 | Platteville | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $2,000,000 | Elizabeth | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $1,800,000 | Granby | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Major |
| 8 | $1,645,000 | Norwood | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $1,600,000 | Summit County | Passenger vehicle fire | Major |
| 10 | $1,590,000 | Glenwood Springs | Building fires | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare Colorado apples-to-apples to the national average.
12 largest reporting cities by population.
Top 10 counties by reported NFIRS incidents in 2025.
| # | County | Incidents | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver County | 6,357 | 710,800 |
| 2 | El Paso County | 4,101 | 650,659 |
| 3 | Arapahoe County | 3,318 | 662,681 |
| 4 | Adams County | 2,932 | 490,508 |
| 5 | Jefferson County | 2,856 | 475,201 |
| 6 | Weld County | 2,406 | 311,426 |
| 7 | Pueblo County | 1,980 | 151,069 |
| 8 | Larimer County | 1,939 | 283,002 |
| 9 | Boulder County | 1,803 | 294,105 |
| 10 | Mesa County | 1,536 | 128,101 |
Top 10 counties by NFIRS incidents per 1,000 residents (population ≥ 50,000). Surfaces signal beyond the mega-counties.
| # | County | Inc / 1k | Incidents | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pueblo County | 13.11 | 1,980 | 151,069 | |
| 2 | Mesa County | 11.99 | 1,536 | 128,101 | |
| 3 | Denver County | 8.94 | 6,357 | 710,800 | |
| 4 | Weld County | 7.73 | 2,406 | 311,426 | |
| 5 | Larimer County | 6.85 | 1,939 | 283,002 | |
| 6 | El Paso County | 6.30 | 4,101 | 650,659 | |
| 7 | Boulder County | 6.13 | 1,803 | 294,105 | |
| 8 | Jefferson County | 6.01 | 2,856 | 475,201 | |
| 9 | Adams County | 5.98 | 2,932 | 490,508 | |
| 10 | Arapahoe County | 5.01 | 3,318 | 662,681 |
By incident count in 2025.
By acres burned. Sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameron Peak | 2020 | USFS | 208,912 |
| 2 | Pine Gulch | 2020 | BLM | 138,802 |
| 3 | Hayman | 2002 | USFS | 137,760 |
| 4 | Spring Creek | 2018 | BLM | 108,045 |
| 5 | High Park | 2012 | BLM | 87,306 |
| 6 | MISSIONARY RIDGE | 2002 | USFS | 70,480 |
| 7 | WEST FORK | 2013 | USFS | 56,575 |
| 8 | 416 | 2018 | USFS | 54,130 |
| 9 | Papoose | 2013 | USFS | 49,282 |
| 10 | Bridger | 2008 | BLM | 46,588 |
1668 perimeters and 2,427,248 acres recorded since 1900.
| Decade | Fires | Acres | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 8 | 346 | |
| 1940s | 2 | 80 | |
| 1950s | 15 | 2,066 | |
| 1960s | 3 | 645 | |
| 1970s | 7 | 13,170 | |
| 1980s | 96 | 82,277 | |
| 1990s | 132 | 96,451 | |
| 2000s | 439 | 646,115 | |
| 2010s | 601 | 1,097,374 | |
| 2020s | 365 | 488,724 |
FPA-FOD ignitions by decade, broken down by cause category. Each row sums to the decade's total; the bars show the share each cause contributed.
| Decade | Total fires | Share by cause |
|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10,245 | |
| 2000s | 14,066 | |
| 2010s | 39,918 | |
| 2020s | 4,400 |
FPA-FOD ignitions by month, all years on record. Distinct from NFIRS — captures unreported wildlands across rural and remote terrain. 68,629 ignitions total.
1,606 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 5-year window. Age and gender are coarse-binned for privacy.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 21 | |
| 10-19 | 24 | |
| 20-29 | 217 | |
| 30-39 | 437 | |
| 40-49 | 364 | |
| 50-59 | 191 | |
| 60-69 | 89 | |
| 70-79 | 44 | |
| 80+ | 31 |
State totals reflect incidents reported by fire departments to NFIRS for 2025. The 5-year totals span 2021 through 2025. Wildfire perimeters and decade-by-decade counts are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History service. NFIRS reporting is voluntary, so totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.