ZIP 28646 is served primarily by Avery County, NC — including Banner Elk. ZIP-level data is sparse — showing the Avery County aggregate.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. ZIP-level seasonality is sparse — this is the county aggregate.
Top 4 NFIRS incident types — county-level breakdown.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building fires | 6 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | 4 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/worn | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Attempt to burn | 1 | 8.3% |
3 cities sit in Avery County. Click for the per-city NFIRS profile.
| # | City | Population | 2025 incidents | Building fires | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Banner Elk | 1,234 | 9 | 4 | C+ |
| 2 | Newland | 743 | 0 | 0 | B |
| 3 | Elk Park | 511 | 2 | 2 | A+ |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
This ZIP doesn't have enough NFIRS coverage on its own (under 10 reported incidents across 2021–2025) to publish ZIP-level statistics, so we're showing the Avery County aggregate above. NFIRS reporting is voluntary and many rural ZIPs roll up to broader county totals. The ZIP-to-county mapping uses SimpleMaps' uscities.zips dataset.