In 2025, fire departments serving Hancock County responded to 345 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $2.0M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips.
1,312 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 252 | |
| 2022 | 155 | |
| 2023 | 288 | |
| 2024 | 272 | |
| 2025 | 345 |
For the 47 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Hancock County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 98% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000,000 | Kiln | Fires in structures other than in a building | Major |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | Waveland | Passenger vehicle fire | Major |
| 3 | $1,000,000 | Waveland | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Major |
| 4 | $1,000,000 | Waveland | Passenger vehicle fire | Major |
| 5 | $113,000 | Kiln | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 6 | $100,000 | Waveland | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $75,000 | Diamondhead Census D | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $50,000 | Diamondhead Census D | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $40,000 | Kiln | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant |
| 10 | $20,000 | City of Bay Saint Lo | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 28045.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Bay St. Louis | 9,788 | View › |
| Diamondhead | 9,360 | View › |
| Waveland | 7,075 | View › |
| Kiln | 2,156 | View › |
| Pearlington | 803 | View › |
| Clermont Harbor | 0 | View › |
| Ansley | 0 | View › |
| Fenton | 0 | View › |
| Gainesville | 0 | View › |
| Santa Rosa | 0 | View › |
| Crane Creek | 0 | View › |
| Necaise | 0 | View › |
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 | 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.