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Risk & Response

Montrose County, CO

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 55.4 Relatively Moderate

43,807
Population
5
Departments
13
Stations
12
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.30
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
31st highest of 64
Life Safety per 100k
0.68
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
52nd highest of 64
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$13.0M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
23rd highest of 64
Property Loss per Resident
$297
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
51st highest of 64

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Montrose County, the largest single contributor is Avalanche, 55% of the life-safety total.

Montrose County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $13.0M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 64 Colorado counties. Nationally, Montrose County ranks 1525th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2261st for life safety per 100k residents, 1268th for property loss, and 1878th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Montrose County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Montrose County.

Talk to us about Montrose County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

74%
23%
Property (buildings): $13.0M (74.4%)
Life safety: $4.1M (23.3%)
Agriculture: $392K (2.2%)

Total expected annual loss: $17,461,217 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Avalanche
$2.3M
Lightning
$1.0M
Earthquake
$324K
Inland Flooding
$126K
Cold Wave
$110K
Strong Wind
$69K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$11.6M
Earthquake
$993K
Wildfire
$341K
Tornado
$15K
Hail
$14K
Ice Storm
$9K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Montrose County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

20%
20%
60%
Career: 20% (1)
Combination: 20% (1)
Volunteer: 60% (3)
Residents per Station
3,370
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
29.7
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 5 departments registered in NERIS Public for Montrose County, CO. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Montrose County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 5 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Norwood Fire Protection District 1,565 $3.3M Very High 2
Montrose Fire Protection District 35,297 $2.8M Relatively Moderate 6
Olathe Fire Department 6,246 $902.4K Relatively High 2
Nucla Naturita Volunteer Fire Department 1,589 $295.3K Very High 2
Paradox Volunteer Fire Department 113 $20.5K Very High 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

11.5%
Poverty Rate
26.0%
Age 65+
14.1%
Disability Rate
13.3%
Uninsured
36.9%
Pre-1980 Housing
19.0%
Mobile Homes
8.5%
Vacancy Rate
7.5%
Wood Heat
$74,066
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

2
Last 10 Years
5
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo