ZIP 28698 recorded 23 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 101 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Ashe County, NC. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
101 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | |
| 2022 | 21 | |
| 2023 | 21 | |
| 2024 | 21 | |
| 2025 | 23 |
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 28698 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building fires | 33 | 32.7% | |
| 2 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | 13 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Authorized controlled burning | 6 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Power line down | 5 | 5.0% |
For the 9 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 28698 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 10 | 27.8% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 6 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 28698 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 305% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $190,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2023 | Significant |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2023 | Significant |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 8 | $4,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | 2023 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 28698.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boone | 1 |
Some ZIPs span multiple counties. The primary above is the largest by population weight; secondary counties are below.
| County | State | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watauga County | NC | 1.00 | FIPS 37189 |
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 — 101 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.