In 2025, fire departments serving Desha County responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $75K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips.
363 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | |
| 2022 | 89 | |
| 2023 | 80 | |
| 2024 | 73 | |
| 2025 | 53 |
For the 14 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Desha County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 95% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Arkansas City | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $50,000 | McGehee | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 3 | $50,000 | McGehee | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $30,000 | McGehee | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 5 | $30,000 | McGehee | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $25,000 | Arkansas City | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $20,000 | McGehee | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 8 | $15,000 | McGehee | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $10,000 | McGehee | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $10,000 | Mcgehee | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 05041.
5 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 | No Mans Land | 2006 | USFS | 8,403 |
| 2 | Sulphur Mountain | 2006 | USFS | 4,475 |
| 3 | Big Point | 2016 | USFS | 3,993 |
| 4 | Pipeline | 2016 | USFS | 3,286 |
| 5 | 21 Lick Creek | 2021 | NPS | 3,250 |
| 6 | 20 Cave Creek | 2020 | NPS | 2,939 |
| 7 | Walker | 2024 | USFS | 1,844 |
| 8 | Flat Rock | 2001 | NPS | 1,484 |
| 9 | Slick Rock Hollow | 2013 | NPS | 1,211 |
| 10 | ABOUT TIME | 1996 | NPS | 1,073 |
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.