In 2025, fire departments serving Aiken County responded to 1,568 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $2.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
9,186 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,532 | |
| 2022 | 2,095 | |
| 2023 | 1,776 | |
| 2024 | 2,215 | |
| 2025 | 1,568 |
For the 457 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Aiken County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 65% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | ESCANABA | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $500,000 | Salley | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major |
| 3 | $375,000 | Wagener | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $250,000 | Aiken | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $206,600 | North Augusta | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $200,000 | North Augusta | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $150,000 | BATESBURG | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant |
| 8 | $150,000 | North Augusta | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $145,130 | Jackson | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $105,353 | North Augusta | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 45003.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Aiken | 32,014 | View › |
| North Augusta | 24,425 | View › |
| Belvedere | 5,786 | View › |
| Clearwater | 3,403 | View › |
| Gloverville | 3,099 | View › |
| Burnettown | 3,052 | View › |
| New Ellenton | 2,508 | View › |
| Graniteville | 2,465 | View › |
| Jackson | 1,882 | View › |
| Langley | 1,776 | View › |
| Beech Island | 1,361 | View › |
| Wagener | 1,030 | View › |
15 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turn Table | 2017 | USFS | 1,694 |
| 2 | SCWAR-FY19-RX-Sandy Island 2019 | 2019 | PRI | 1,655 |
| 3 | Memorial | 2019 | USFS | 1,635 |
| 4 | Cumbee | 2018 | USFS | 1,629 |
| 5 | Bullhead | 2017 | USFS | 1,115 |
| 6 | SCCRR-FY19-RX-0803 | 2019 | FWS | 1,038 |
| 7 | Mill Mountain | 2023 | USFS | 935 |
| 8 | Keepers Branch | 2018 | USFS | 766 |
| 9 | SCCRR-FY19-RX-0704 | 2019 | FWS | 730 |
| 10 | Calestown | 2018 | USFS | 616 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.