In 2025, fire departments serving McDuffie County responded to 296 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $187K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips.
1,127 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 230 | |
| 2022 | 239 | |
| 2023 | 223 | |
| 2024 | 139 | |
| 2025 | 296 |
For the 21 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in McDuffie County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 95% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $187,139 | Thomson | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $124,000 | Thomson | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $100,000 | Thomson | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $100,000 | Thomson | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $75,657 | Dearing | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $64,258 | Thomson | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $33,000 | Thomson | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant |
| 8 | $30,000 | Thomson | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 9 | $25,000 | Dearing | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $20,000 | Thomson | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
10 cities mapped to FIPS 13189.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Thomson | 6,839 | View › |
| Dearing | 662 | View › |
| Scuffletown | 0 | View › |
| Ansley Mill | 0 | View › |
| Cobbham Crossroads | 0 | View › |
| Hamilton Crossroads | 0 | View › |
| Wrightsboro | 0 | View › |
| Boneville | 0 | View › |
| Raysville | 0 | View › |
| Stones Crossroads | 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 | West Mims | 2017 | FWS | 152,527 |
| 2 | GAOKR-FY19-RX-Blackjack Island | 2019 | FWS | 3,367 |
| 3 | South Cut | 2008 | NPS | 2,581 |
| 4 | St. Catherines Island | 2022 | USFS | 2,213 |
| 5 | GAOKR-FY19-RX-Strange Island | 2019 | FWS | 1,999 |
| 6 | GAPDR-FY19-RX-6C/7S/8A/8B | 2019 | FWS | 1,172 |
| 7 | Barrow's Fire | 2016 | PRI | 1,034 |
| 8 | GAOKR-FY19-RX-Mitchell Island | 2019 | FWS | 1,027 |
| 9 | The Nicki Fire | 2014 | FWS | 1,022 |
| 10 | GAPDR-FY19-RX-27A/Stephens | 2019 | FWS | 972 |
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.