ZIP 78550 recorded 384 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 1,839 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Cameron County, TX. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
1,839 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 445 | |
| 2022 | 291 | |
| 2023 | 358 | |
| 2024 | 361 | |
| 2025 | 384 |
Aug peaks. Nov dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 78550 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 241 | 13.1% | |
| 2 | Power line down | 193 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | 174 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | 164 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Building fires | 124 | 6.7% |
For the 24 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 78550 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 284 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 149 | 19.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 70 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 51 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 48 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 17 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 17 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 11 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 115 | 15.1% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 575 | 75.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 37 | 4.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 33 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 14 | 1.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 1.6% | |
| 6 | Match | 12 | 1.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 60 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 78550 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 2253% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $160,000 | Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, other | 2022 | Significant |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2024 | Significant |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | 2024 | Significant |
| 5 | $7,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 6 | $6,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | 2022 | Significant |
| 7 | $5,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2022 | Significant |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2022 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 78550.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harlingen | 1,783 | |
| 2 | Combes | 36 | |
| 3 | Brownsville | 1 | |
| 4 | Palm Valley | 1 | |
| 5 | Primera | 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 — 1,839 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.