In 2025, fire departments serving Carteret County responded to 685 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $500K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips.
4,072 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 888 | |
| 2022 | 846 | |
| 2023 | 769 | |
| 2024 | 884 | |
| 2025 | 685 |
For the 156 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Carteret County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 88% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | SALTER PATH | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $240,000 | INDIAN BEACH | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $200,000 | SALTER PATH | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $153,593 | Newport | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $88,000 | Newport | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $45,000 | Atlantic Beach | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $40,000 | NewportTownship of | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $34,500 | Newport | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $24,000 | NewportTownship of | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $23,500 | Cape Carteret | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 37031.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Morehead City | 9,632 | View › |
| Beaufort | 4,534 | View › |
| Newport | 4,407 | View › |
| Emerald Isle | 3,870 | View › |
| Cape Carteret | 2,651 | View › |
| Cedar Point | 2,198 | View › |
| Broad Creek | 2,013 | View › |
| Atlantic Beach | 1,736 | View › |
| Pine Knoll Shores | 1,363 | View › |
| Brandywine Bay | 1,339 | View › |
| Harkers Island | 1,104 | View › |
| Bogue | 815 | 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 | 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.