In 2025, fire departments serving Wrightsville Beach responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
153 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $195K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 42 | +75.0% | |
| 2023 | 23 | -45.2% | |
| 2024 | 36 | +56.5% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -22.2% |
For the 7 building fires Wrightsville Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 7 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Wrightsville Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wrightsville Beach departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wrightsville Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55,480 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Natural | 31,140 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2,727 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,084 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1,577 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,533 | 27.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Natural | 1,300 | 35.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Natural | 1,216 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,154 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1,126 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,100 | 8.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 970 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 944 | 30.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Wrightsville Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wrightsville Beach.
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.