In 2025, fire departments serving Beaufort County responded to 1,581 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $3.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
7,996 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,355 | |
| 2022 | 1,700 | |
| 2023 | 1,588 | |
| 2024 | 1,772 | |
| 2025 | 1,581 |
For the 111 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Beaufort County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 67% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000,000 | Fripp Island | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $2,500,000 | Bluffton | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $1,492,200 | Okatie | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $991,650 | Hilton Head Island | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $800,000 | Hilton Head Island | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $796,600 | Fripp Island | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $776,900 | Fripp Island | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $714,900 | Fripp Island | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $655,000 | Fripp Island | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $510,000 | Hilton Head Island | Building fires | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 45013.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton Head Island | 37,708 | View › |
| Bluffton | 29,375 | View › |
| Port Royal | 14,573 | View › |
| Beaufort | 13,582 | View › |
| Burton | 7,603 | View › |
| Laurel Bay | 5,513 | View › |
| Shell Point | 2,026 | View › |
| Seabrook | 1,087 | View › |
| Yemassee | 974 | View › |
| Dale | 957 | View › |
| Fripp Island | 767 | View › |
| Daufuskie Island | 569 | View › |
4 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.