In 2025, fire departments serving Dukes County responded to 406 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $350K property loss.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips.
2,221 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 410 | |
| 2022 | 475 | |
| 2023 | 465 | |
| 2024 | 465 | |
| 2025 | 406 |
For the 12 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Dukes County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | OAK BLUFFS | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $250,000 | WEST TISBURY | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $20,000 | VINEYARD HAVEN | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $10,000 | Chilmark | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $6,593 | OAK BLUFFS | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $5,000 | VINEYARD HAVEN | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $5,000 | VINEYARD HAVEN | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 8 | $5,000 | WEST TISBURY | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant |
| 9 | $1,000 | VINEYARD HAVEN | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $500 | VINEYARD HAVEN | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 25007.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Oak Bluffs | 5,327 | View › |
| Edgartown | 5,159 | View › |
| Tisbury | 4,809 | View › |
| West Tisbury | 2,941 | View › |
| Vineyard Haven | 2,367 | View › |
| Chilmark | 1,561 | View › |
| Aquinnah | 708 | View › |
| Gosnold | 38 | View › |
| Oklahoma Heights | 0 | View › |
| North Tisbury | 0 | View › |
| Gay Head | 0 | View › |
| Nashaquitsa | 0 | View › |
7 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 | Mt Tom | 2014 | FWS | 23 |
| 2 | Highlands Wildfire | 2013 | NPS | 6 |
| 3 | 20217SPB Plot 9 | 2021 | NPS | 2 |
| 4 | 0021720210525 SPB Plot 203 | 2021 | NPS | 2 |
| 5 | 20210707SPB15_14Rx | 2021 | NPS | 2 |
| 6 | SPB Plot #10 | 2021 | NPS | 1 |
| 7 | 00217420210527 SPB Plot 19 Rx | 2021 | NPS | 1 |
| 8 | PTownPearsols_CPB_2021 | 2021 | NPS | 1 |
| 9 | Pilgrim Springs_CPB_20210204 | 2021 | NPS | 1 |
| 10 | Highland Center_CPB_20210406 | 2021 | NPS | 1 |
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.