ZIP 28803 recorded 215 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 1,326 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Buncombe County, NC. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
1,326 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 237 | |
| 2022 | 263 | |
| 2023 | 305 | |
| 2024 | 306 | |
| 2025 | 215 |
May peaks. Dec dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 28803 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | 244 | 18.4% | |
| 2 | Hazardous condition, other | 228 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Power line down | 129 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Building fires | 120 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 106 | 8.0% |
For the 26 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 28803 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 31 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 20 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 49 | 30.2% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 75 | 46.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 26 | 16.0% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 28803 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 123% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Major |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 3 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 6 | $120,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 7 | $110,000 | Building fires | 2025 | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 28803.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asheville | 1,283 | |
| 2 | Biltmore Forest | 24 | |
| 3 | Rocky Mount | 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 — 1,326 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.