In 2025, fire departments serving Charleston County responded to 3,537 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $4.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips.
18,538 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3,244 | |
| 2022 | 3,989 | |
| 2023 | 3,765 | |
| 2024 | 4,003 | |
| 2025 | 3,537 |
For the 411 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Charleston County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 43% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,000,000 | Folly Beach | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $2,000,000 | Sullivans Island | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $2,000,000 | Sullivans Island | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $2,000,000 | EDISTO ISLAND | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $1,500,000 | MOUNT PLEASANT | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $1,500,000 | Mount Pleasant | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $1,000,000 | CHARLESTON | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $1,000,000 | CHARLESTON | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $1,000,000 | Mount Pleasant | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $1,000,000 | North Charleston | Building fires | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 45019.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Charleston | 149,960 | View › |
| North Charleston | 115,755 | View › |
| Mount Pleasant | 90,945 | View › |
| James Island | 11,689 | View › |
| Hollywood | 5,397 | View › |
| Isle of Palms | 4,347 | View › |
| Ravenel | 2,572 | View › |
| Sullivan's Island | 2,317 | View › |
| Kiawah Island | 2,130 | View › |
| Seabrook Island | 2,062 | View › |
| Awendaw | 1,548 | View › |
| Meggett | 1,348 | View › |
9 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.