In 2025, fire departments serving Lee County responded to 628 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $150K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 42% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips.
3,536 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 307 | |
| 2022 | 909 | |
| 2023 | 789 | |
| 2024 | 903 | |
| 2025 | 628 |
For the 44 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Lee County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 90% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Opelika | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $110,000 | Salem | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 3 | $100,000 | Smiths Station | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $90,000 | Smiths Station | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $88,000 | Smiths Station | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $40,000 | Opelika | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $30,000 | Smiths Station | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $25,000 | Opelika | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $20,000 | City of Opelika | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant |
| 10 | $15,000 | Smiths Station | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 01081.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Auburn | 76,660 | View › |
| Opelika | 31,361 | View › |
| Smiths Station | 5,441 | View › |
| Loachapoka | 227 | View › |
| Whatley Cross Road | 0 | View › |
| Middle Brooks Crossroads | 0 | View › |
| Halawaka | 0 | View › |
| James | 0 | View › |
| Wacoochee Valley | 0 | View › |
| North Auburn | 0 | View › |
| Blanton | 0 | View › |
| Ridge Grove | 0 | 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 | 426 B | 2019 | USFS | 2,671 |
| 2 | Lake Chinnabee | 2016 | USFS | 2,228 |
| 3 | 742 | 2019 | USFS | 1,787 |
| 4 | Rd07-09 | 2006 | NPS | 1,467 |
| 5 | Big Candle | 2019 | USFS | 1,272 |
| 6 | Half Way | 2016 | USFS | 1,066 |
| 7 | LRP NORTHEAST SOUTH RX | 2023 | NPS | 1,026 |
| 8 | Welcome Home 1 | 2016 | USFS | 1,008 |
| 9 | Road 09-08 WF | 2006 | NPS | 978 |
| 10 | Caney Head | 2016 | USFS | 932 |
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.