ZIP 28618 recorded 33 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 158 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Watauga County, NC. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
158 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | |
| 2022 | 26 | |
| 2023 | 39 | |
| 2024 | 7 | |
| 2025 | 33 |
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 28618 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Authorized controlled burning | 32 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Passenger vehicle fire | 25 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | 20 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Building fires | 19 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Grass fire | 10 | 6.3% |
For the 2 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 28618 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 23 | 37.7% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 10 | 16.4% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 34.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 9 | 14.8% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 28618 across 2021–2025. These 5 fires alone account for 1535% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Major |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 4 | $9,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2023 | Significant |
| 5 | $2,500 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 28618.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boone | 1 | |
| 2 | Connelly Springs | 1 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 158 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.