ZIP 81242 recorded 23 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 77 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Chaffee County, CO. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
77 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | |
| 2022 | 24 | |
| 2023 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 16 | |
| 2025 | 23 |
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 81242 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 14 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Building fires | 11 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Authorized controlled burning | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Carbon monoxide incident | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | 4 | 5.2% |
For the 3 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 81242 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 6 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 6 | 27.3% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 3 | 13.6% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 81242 across 2021–2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 81242.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poncha Springs | 74 | |
| 2 | Salida | 2 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 77 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.