ZIP 28679 recorded 18 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 106 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Watauga County, NC. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
106 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | |
| 2022 | 19 | |
| 2023 | 17 | |
| 2024 | 18 | |
| 2025 | 18 |
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 28679 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building fires | 31 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Authorized controlled burning | 11 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | 10 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Power line down | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Passenger vehicle fire | 5 | 4.7% |
For the 2 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 28679 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 8 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 8 | 23.5% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 38.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Match | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 3 | 8.8% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 28679 across 2021–2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
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 — 106 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.