In 2025, fire departments serving Surry County responded to 1,218 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $500K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips.
6,489 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,225 | |
| 2022 | 1,496 | |
| 2023 | 1,315 | |
| 2024 | 1,235 | |
| 2025 | 1,218 |
For the 175 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Surry County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 95% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Pilot Mountain | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Major |
| 2 | $350,000 | MOUNT AIRY | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $100,000 | MOUNT AIRY | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $100,000 | MOUNT AIRY | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $35,000 | Mount Airy | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $22,000 | LOWGAP | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $15,000 | MOUNT AIRY | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 8 | $15,000 | MOUNT AIRY | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $10,000 | MOUNT AIRY | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $10,000 | MOUNT AIRY | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 37171.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Airy | 10,621 | View › |
| Elkin | 4,026 | View › |
| Dobson | 1,812 | View › |
| Pilot Mountain | 1,667 | View › |
| Toast | 1,210 | View › |
| White Plains | 767 | View › |
| Lowgap | 188 | View › |
| Burch | 0 | View › |
| Red Brush | 0 | View › |
| Stony Knoll | 0 | View › |
| Ladonia | 0 | View › |
| Mountain Park | 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 | GREAT LAKES | 2023 | USFS | 32,155 |
| 2 | Whipping Creek Road | 2016 | PRI | 15,456 |
| 3 | COLLETT RIDGE | 2023 | USFS | 5,506 |
| 4 | St Mary's | 2008 | NPS | 4,565 |
| 5 | Carolina Bay | 2009 | USFS | 2,659 |
| 6 | Big Ditch | 2021 | FWS | 1,486 |
| 7 | HANCOCK CREEK | 2022 | USFS | 1,177 |
| 8 | BUCK MTN | 2002 | NPS | 1,124 |
| 9 | NCMCR-FY19-RX-1.1.2.b | 2019 | FWS | 1,080 |
| 10 | VAF220152 | 2022 | NPS | 1,079 |
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.