In 2025, fire departments serving Brunswick County responded to 1,434 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $450K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips.
7,749 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,485 | |
| 2022 | 1,718 | |
| 2023 | 1,417 | |
| 2024 | 1,695 | |
| 2025 | 1,434 |
For the 239 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Brunswick County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 63% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Boiling Spring Lakes | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $308,620 | Ash | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $250,000 | Winnabow | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major |
| 4 | $210,330 | Shallotte | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $150,000 | Supply | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $102,000 | Calabash | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $100,000 | Supply | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | Leland | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $85,760 | Supply | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $77,220 | Supply | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 37019.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Leland | 24,473 | View › |
| Oak Island | 8,564 | View › |
| St. James | 6,566 | View › |
| Boiling Spring Lakes | 6,032 | View › |
| Carolina Shores | 4,643 | View › |
| Shallotte | 4,213 | View › |
| Sunset Beach | 4,189 | View › |
| Southport | 4,015 | View › |
| Belville | 3,380 | View › |
| Calabash | 2,570 | View › |
| Navassa | 1,976 | View › |
| Holden Beach | 997 | View › |
23 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 | GREAT LAKES | 2023 | USFS | 32,155 |
| 2 | Whipping Creek Road | 2016 | PRI | 15,456 |
| 3 | COLLETT RIDGE | 2023 | USFS | 5,506 |
| 4 | St Mary's | 2008 | NPS | 4,565 |
| 5 | Carolina Bay | 2009 | USFS | 2,659 |
| 6 | Big Ditch | 2021 | FWS | 1,486 |
| 7 | HANCOCK CREEK | 2022 | USFS | 1,177 |
| 8 | BUCK MTN | 2002 | NPS | 1,124 |
| 9 | NCMCR-FY19-RX-1.1.2.b | 2019 | FWS | 1,080 |
| 10 | VAF220152 | 2022 | NPS | 1,079 |
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.