In 2025, fire departments serving McDonald County responded to 352 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $125K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips.
1,302 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 113 | |
| 2022 | 180 | |
| 2023 | 214 | |
| 2024 | 443 | |
| 2025 | 352 |
For the 30 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in McDonald County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 85% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $125,000 | Pineville | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $60,000 | White Rock | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 3 | $60,000 | Pineville | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $60,000 | NEWTON COUNTY | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 5 | $50,000 | NEWTON COUNTY | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $30,000 | Rocky Comfort | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 7 | $30,000 | Anderson | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $25,000 | Pineville | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $25,000 | NEWTON COUNTY | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 10 | $15,000 | Rocky Comfort | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 29119.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson | 2,561 | View › |
| Noel | 1,930 | View › |
| Goodman | 1,207 | View › |
| Southwest City | 988 | View › |
| Pineville | 895 | View › |
| Jane | 535 | View › |
| Lanagan | 433 | View › |
| Rocky Comfort | 155 | View › |
| Ginger Blue | 113 | View › |
| Riverside Inn | 0 | View › |
| Havenhurst | 0 | View › |
| Poole Ford | 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 | Minninghaw | 2011 | USFS | 4,762 |
| 2 | Mud Pond | 2011 | USFS | 3,520 |
| 3 | Willie | 2020 | USFS | 2,472 |
| 4 | 23 Thorny Creek BIL RX | 2023 | NPS | 2,223 |
| 5 | Carty | 2015 | USFS | 2,145 |
| 6 | Swan Creek | 2019 | USFS | 2,119 |
| 7 | Rozell | 2018 | USFS | 2,102 |
| 8 | Devreaux | 2023 | USFS | 2,028 |
| 9 | Liberty | 2012 | USFS | 1,623 |
| 10 | Sugar | 2024 | USFS | 1,611 |
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.