In 2025, fire departments serving Cherokee County responded to 496 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $400K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
1,410 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 301 | |
| 2022 | 157 | |
| 2023 | 123 | |
| 2024 | 333 | |
| 2025 | 496 |
For the 40 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Cherokee County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 73% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Tahlequah | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $100,000 | Tahlequah | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $100,000 | Tahlequah | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $100,000 | Cherokee County | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $100,000 | Park Hill | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $100,000 | Hulbert | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $70,000 | Cherokee County | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $60,000 | Hulbert | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $50,000 | Hulbert | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $50,000 | Locust Grove | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 40021.
13 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 | West 60 | 2018 | BIA | 20,304 |
| 2 | CANDY CREEK | 2021 | BIA | 18,252 |
| 3 | HWY 123 | 2023 | BIA | 17,220 |
| 4 | RUSH | 2024 | FWS | 12,461 |
| 5 | NORTH DRUM | 2023 | BIA | 11,486 |
| 6 | ZINK | 2023 | BIA | 11,286 |
| 7 | Biggy | 2018 | BIA | 10,360 |
| 8 | Crater Creek | 2015 | FWS | 9,769 |
| 9 | ZINK | 2024 | BIA | 8,101 |
| 10 | JAVINE | 2021 | BIA | 7,448 |
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.