In 2025, fire departments serving St. Mary's County responded to 1,052 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $500K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
6,185 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,220 | |
| 2022 | 1,396 | |
| 2023 | 1,232 | |
| 2024 | 1,285 | |
| 2025 | 1,052 |
For the 243 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in St. Mary's County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 94% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | MECHANICSVILLE | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $476,400 | GREAT MILLS | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $225,000 | RIDGE | Water vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $175,000 | CHARLOTTE HALL | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant |
| 5 | $100,000 | HOLLYWOOD | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $70,000 | HOLLYWOOD | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $50,000 | LEONARDTOWN | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $30,000 | CALIFORNIA | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $20,000 | LEONARDTOWN | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $20,000 | HOLLYWOOD | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 24037.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| California | 13,635 | View › |
| Lexington Park | 13,537 | View › |
| Wildewood | 7,436 | View › |
| Leonardtown | 4,586 | View › |
| Golden Beach | 3,933 | View › |
| Mechanicsville | 1,783 | View › |
| Charlotte Hall | 1,410 | View › |
| Callaway | 1,216 | View › |
| Piney Point | 1,033 | View › |
| Tall Timbers | 480 | View › |
| St. George Island | 208 | View › |
| McKay Beach | 0 | View › |
6 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 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Mill Ditch | 2019 | FWS | 974 |
| 2 | MDMDS-FY19-RX-Thorofare | 2019 | State | 428 |
| 3 | MDMDFN-FY19-RX-Nassawango 87-88 | 2019 | PRI | 205 |
| 4 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Shorters Wharf East | 2019 | FWS | 125 |
| 5 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Unit F2 | 2019 | FWS | 113 |
| 6 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Wolf Pit | 2019 | FWS | 111 |
| 7 | MDMDS-FY19-RX-Marshy Hope 1-1 | 2019 | State | 80 |
| 8 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-McGraws Island | 2019 | FWS | 77 |
| 9 | Otto Farm Rx | 2021 | NPS | 62 |
| 10 | MDPWR-FY19-RX-NT7 Range 1 | 2019 | FWS | 60 |
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.