In 2025, fire departments serving McMinn County responded to 502 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $350K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
3,787 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 638 | |
| 2022 | 713 | |
| 2023 | 981 | |
| 2024 | 953 | |
| 2025 | 502 |
For the 94 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in McMinn County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 60% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Calhoun | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major |
| 2 | $350,000 | CALHOUN | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $300,000 | ATHENS | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $207,200 | ETOWAH | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $207,200 | ETOWAH | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $200,000 | ATHENS | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 7 | $174,458 | ATHENS | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $125,000 | ATHENS | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $125,000 | ATHENS | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $111,800 | RICEVILLE | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 47107.
14 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 | Chimney Tops 2 | 2016 | NPS | 15,642 |
| 2 | SHARP | 2001 | NPS | 6,705 |
| 3 | Halls Top | 2016 | USFS | 2,462 |
| 4 | GREEN MTN | 2001 | NPS | 2,287 |
| 5 | DARROW RDG | 2000 | NPS | 2,265 |
| 6 | Stony Ridge | 2009 | NPS | 2,191 |
| 7 | LAUREL RDG | 1987 | NPS | 1,969 |
| 8 | Railroad Grade | 2016 | USFS | 1,746 |
| 9 | SHOP | 1988 | NPS | 1,303 |
| 10 | State Line | 2016 | USFS | 1,238 |
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.