Wildfire Risk in North Carolina

All North Carolina counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index wildfire score

Wildfire risk — uncontrolled fires that spread across wildland and into communities — is rated for 100 of 100 North Carolina counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Brunswick County carries the state's highest wildfire score at 93.4, with $2M in expected annual wildfire losses.

No North Carolina county reaches the High band for wildfire, and expected annual losses from wildfire total roughly $14M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Wildfire

#CountyWildfire ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Brunswick County
93.4
Medium 0.00 / yr $2M
2 Carteret County
88.6
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
3 Robeson County
87.8
Low 0.00 / yr $573K
4 Pender County
86.9
Low 0.00 / yr $897K
5 Onslow County
85.9
Low 0.00 / yr $968K
6 Bladen County
84.6
Low 0.00 / yr $487K
7 Cumberland County
84.2
Low 0.00 / yr $733K
8 Craven County
83.3
Low 0.00 / yr $492K
9 New Hanover County
83.0
Low 0.00 / yr $675K
10 Dare County
82.7
Low 0.00 / yr $546K
11 Scotland County
82.0
Low 0.00 / yr $301K
12 Moore County
81.8
Low 0.00 / yr $479K
13 Cherokee County
81.1
Low 0.00 / yr $349K
14 Buncombe County
80.6
Low 0.00 / yr $447K
15 Hoke County
80.2
Low 0.00 / yr $333K
16 Richmond County
79.9
Low 0.00 / yr $297K
17 Pamlico County
78.0
Low 0.00 / yr $242K
18 Columbus County
77.7
Low 0.00 / yr $213K
19 Hyde County
74.7
Low 0.00 / yr $156K
20 Sampson County
69.5
Low 0.00 / yr $108K
21 Harnett County
69.1
Low 0.00 / yr $178K
22 Beaufort County
66.3
Low 0.00 / yr $98K
23 Duplin County
65.9
Low 0.00 / yr $84K
24 Clay County
64.3
Low 0.00 / yr $66K
25 Rutherford County
63.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $80K
26 Madison County
62.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $101K
27 Mecklenburg County
62.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $119K
28 Swain County
60.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $53K
29 McDowell County
59.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $64K
30 Haywood County
58.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $65K
31 Macon County
58.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $57K
32 Anson County
58.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $48K
33 Wake County
57.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $115K
34 Tyrrell County
57.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $45K
35 Currituck County
57.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $112K
36 Wayne County
55.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $49K
37 Lee County
54.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $46K
38 Johnston County
52.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $58K
39 Wilkes County
52.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $37K
40 Caldwell County
52.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $50K
41 Yancey County
51.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $35K
42 Cabarrus County
50.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $65K
43 Davidson County
49.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $45K
44 Graham County
49.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $35K
45 Jones County
48.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $26K
46 Gaston County
48.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $46K
47 Ashe County
47.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $29K
48 Rowan County
47.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $40K
49 Washington County
47.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $26K
50 Burke County
47.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $31K
51 Jackson County
46.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $25K
52 Alleghany County
45.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $22K
53 Henderson County
45.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $28K
54 Montgomery County
45.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $26K
55 Pasquotank County
44.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $30K
56 Halifax County
44.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $20K
57 Transylvania County
44.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $25K
58 Guilford County
43.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $32K
59 Polk County
43.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $22K
60 Iredell County
43.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $39K
61 Pitt County
41.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $29K
62 Union County
41.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $41K
63 Watauga County
40.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $24K
64 Nash County
40.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $24K
65 Cleveland County
40.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $26K
66 Wilson County
40.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $23K
67 Randolph County
40.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $24K
68 Edgecombe County
39.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
69 Lincoln County
37.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $22K
70 Catawba County
36.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $22K
71 Bertie County
36.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $14K
72 Forsyth County
35.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $20K
73 Martin County
35.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
74 Granville County
35.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $19K
75 Durham County
34.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $21K
76 Avery County
34.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $14K
77 Lenoir County
33.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $12K
78 Mitchell County
33.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $15K
79 Chatham County
33.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $16K
80 Hertford County
31.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
81 Alamance County
30.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $17K
82 Greene County
29.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $9K
83 Perquimans County
29.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $11K
84 Orange County
28.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $16K
85 Surry County
28.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $11K
86 Alexander County
28.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $9K
87 Franklin County
27.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $12K
88 Warren County
26.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $7K
89 Chowan County
26.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
90 Northampton County
24.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $6K
91 Stanly County
24.7
Very Low 0.00 / yr $11K
92 Caswell County
24.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $8K
93 Camden County
24.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $15K
94 Rockingham County
23.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $8K
95 Davie County
23.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $10K
96 Person County
20.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $6K
97 Yadkin County
17.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $5K
98 Vance County
17.4
Very Low 0.00 / yr $4K
99 Stokes County
16.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $5K
100 Gates County
13.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $4K

100 North Carolina counties with measurable wildfire risk. See the national wildfire ranking or all North Carolina counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which North Carolina county has the highest wildfire risk?

Brunswick County has the highest FEMA wildfire risk score in North Carolina at 93.4 (Medium), with $2M in expected annual losses and about 0.00 events per year.

How many North Carolina counties face significant wildfire risk?

100 North Carolina counties record measurable wildfire risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 0 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in North Carolina

Coastal Flood Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Winter Weather