In 2025, fire departments serving Cherokee County responded to 775 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $400K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips.
4,443 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 755 | |
| 2022 | 880 | |
| 2023 | 1,064 | |
| 2024 | 969 | |
| 2025 | 775 |
For the 126 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 80% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | GAFFNEY | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $400,000 | GAFFNEY | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $300,000 | BLACKSBURG | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major |
| 4 | $250,000 | GAFFNEY | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $160,000 | BLACKSBURG | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant |
| 6 | $150,000 | BLACKSBURG | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 7 | $100,000 | Gaffney | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $52,700 | Blacksburg | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $50,000 | Gaffney | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $30,000 | Blacksburg | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 45021.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Gaffney | 12,651 | View › |
| East Gaffney | 2,972 | View › |
| Blacksburg | 2,115 | View › |
| Cherokee Falls | 30 | View › |
| Thicketty | 0 | View › |
| Grassy Pond | 0 | View › |
| Asbury | 0 | View › |
| Kings Creek | 0 | View › |
| Abingdon | 0 | View › |
| Goucher | 0 | View › |
| Smith Ford | 0 | View › |
| Draytonville | 0 | View › |
3 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.