In 2025, fire departments serving Gaston County responded to 1,588 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $315K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips.
12,648 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2,745 | |
| 2022 | 2,822 | |
| 2023 | 2,958 | |
| 2024 | 2,535 | |
| 2025 | 1,588 |
For the 228 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Gaston County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 46% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $315,000 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $292,200 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $250,000 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $200,000 | GASTONIA | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 5 | $200,000 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $200,000 | Gastonia | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $190,000 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $155,000 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $155,000 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $155,000 | GASTONIA | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 37071.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Gastonia | 80,615 | View › |
| Mount Holly | 17,644 | View › |
| Belmont | 14,842 | View › |
| Cherryville | 6,113 | View › |
| Dallas | 5,889 | View › |
| Bessemer City | 5,472 | View › |
| Cramerton | 5,294 | View › |
| Ranlo | 4,487 | View › |
| Stanley | 3,967 | View › |
| Lowell | 3,692 | View › |
| McAdenville | 1,125 | View › |
| Springdale | 1,121 | View › |
2 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 | GREAT LAKES | 2023 | USFS | 32,155 |
| 2 | Whipping Creek Road | 2016 | PRI | 15,456 |
| 3 | COLLETT RIDGE | 2023 | USFS | 5,506 |
| 4 | St Mary's | 2008 | NPS | 4,565 |
| 5 | Carolina Bay | 2009 | USFS | 2,659 |
| 6 | Big Ditch | 2021 | FWS | 1,486 |
| 7 | HANCOCK CREEK | 2022 | USFS | 1,177 |
| 8 | BUCK MTN | 2002 | NPS | 1,124 |
| 9 | NCMCR-FY19-RX-1.1.2.b | 2019 | FWS | 1,080 |
| 10 | VAF220152 | 2022 | NPS | 1,079 |
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.