In 2025, fire departments serving Cherokee County responded to 292 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $150K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Accident, potential accident, other lead by count. Top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
1,519 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 195 | |
| 2022 | 372 | |
| 2023 | 293 | |
| 2024 | 367 | |
| 2025 | 292 |
For the 31 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Cherokee County during 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Cedar Bluff | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 2 | $25,000 | Centre | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $15,000 | Centre | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $2,000 | Centre | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $99 | Centre | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $99 | Centre | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 7 | $99 | Centre | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 01019.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Centre | 3,609 | View › |
| Cedar Bluff | 1,672 | View › |
| Leesburg | 756 | View › |
| Sand Rock | 720 | View › |
| Broomtown | 211 | View › |
| Gaylesville | 164 | View › |
| Spring Garden | 140 | View › |
| Piney | 0 | View › |
| Taft | 0 | View › |
| McFrey Crossroads | 0 | View › |
| Maple Grove | 0 | View › |
| Tennala | 0 | View › |
2 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 | 426 B | 2019 | USFS | 2,671 |
| 2 | Lake Chinnabee | 2016 | USFS | 2,228 |
| 3 | 742 | 2019 | USFS | 1,787 |
| 4 | Rd07-09 | 2006 | NPS | 1,467 |
| 5 | Big Candle | 2019 | USFS | 1,272 |
| 6 | Half Way | 2016 | USFS | 1,066 |
| 7 | LRP NORTHEAST SOUTH RX | 2023 | NPS | 1,026 |
| 8 | Welcome Home 1 | 2016 | USFS | 1,008 |
| 9 | Road 09-08 WF | 2006 | NPS | 978 |
| 10 | Caney Head | 2016 | USFS | 932 |
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.