In 2025, fire departments serving Forrest County responded to 740 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $2.5M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips.
3,888 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 728 | |
| 2022 | 353 | |
| 2023 | 1,162 | |
| 2024 | 905 | |
| 2025 | 740 |
For the 143 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Forrest County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 81% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500,000 | Hattiesburg | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $500,000 | Dixie | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $250,000 | Hattiesburg | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $250,000 | Petal | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major |
| 5 | $210,000 | Petal | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $120,000 | Hattiesburg | Power line down | Significant |
| 7 | $100,000 | Hattiesburg | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | Hattiesburg | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $93,000 | Petal | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 10 | $85,000 | Hattiesburg | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 28035.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Hattiesburg | 48,466 | View › |
| Petal | 11,047 | View › |
| Rawls Springs | 2,069 | View › |
| Glendale | 1,514 | View › |
| Eastabuchie | 148 | View › |
| Carnes | 0 | View › |
| Wallis | 0 | View › |
| McCallum | 0 | View › |
| Bowie | 0 | View › |
| Pistol Ridge | 0 | View › |
| Fruitland Park | 0 | View › |
| Goodluck | 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 | Toms Camp | 2023 | USFS | 5,301 |
| 2 | Grand Bature Fire | 2016 | PRI | 4,247 |
| 3 | Range 40 | 2022 | USFS | 3,836 |
| 4 | Range 12 | 2022 | USFS | 2,753 |
| 5 | Baldy North | 2023 | USFS | 2,093 |
| 6 | Range 45 Northeast | 2023 | USFS | 1,823 |
| 7 | Indian Creek | 2023 | USFS | 1,771 |
| 8 | County Line | 2023 | USFS | 1,554 |
| 9 | Carson Six | 2024 | USFS | 1,346 |
| 10 | Parces Rd | 2024 | USFS | 1,158 |
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.