In 2025, fire departments serving Smyth County responded to 146 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $200K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 45% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
1,114 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 219 | |
| 2022 | 282 | |
| 2023 | 252 | |
| 2024 | 215 | |
| 2025 | 146 |
For the 24 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Smyth County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 87% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Saltville | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $50,000 | Marion | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 3 | $40,000 | Chilhowie | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $40,000 | Chilhowie | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $30,000 | Chilhowie | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $30,000 | Marion | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $25,000 | Sugar Grove | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
| 8 | $20,000 | Atkins | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 9 | $20,000 | Sugar Grove | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 10 | $15,000 | Marion | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 51173.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Marion | 5,722 | View › |
| Chilhowie | 2,371 | View › |
| Saltville | 2,085 | View › |
| Adwolf | 1,434 | View › |
| Atkins | 1,028 | View › |
| Sugar Grove | 723 | View › |
| Seven Mile Ford | 697 | View › |
| Allison Gap | 647 | View › |
| McMullin | 240 | View › |
| Broadford | 0 | View › |
| Mount Carmel | 0 | View › |
| Cardwell Town | 0 | View › |
7 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 | PINNACLES | 2000 | NPS | 18,055 |
| 2 | Mount Pleasant | 2016 | USFS | 11,210 |
| 3 | Waterfall Mountain | 2024 | USFS | 6,398 |
| 4 | Waites Run | 2024 | USFS | 6,223 |
| 5 | OLD RAG | 2000 | NPS | 6,127 |
| 6 | BIG RUN | 1986 | NPS | 4,696 |
| 7 | FULTZ RUN | 2002 | NPS | 4,194 |
| 8 | Shop Run | 1999 | NPS | 3,229 |
| 9 | Raven Rock | 2016 | USFS | 2,401 |
| 10 | Tye River | 2018 | USFS | 2,057 |
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.