In 2025, fire departments serving Bakersville responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
252 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $535K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | — | |
| 2022 | 78 | +62.5% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -39.7% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -29.8% | |
| 2025 | 46 | +39.4% |
For the 11 building fires Bakersville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 85 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 20 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 23.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 18.8% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Bakersville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Match | 5 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bakersville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 76,829 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,120 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,913 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,964 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 5,500 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 5,015 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 3,163 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,943 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 2,738 | 6.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 2,579 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2,404 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 2,235 | 34.6 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Bakersville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bakersville.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 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. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.