Denali Borough, Alaska

Borough storm and disaster record · FIPS 02068 · population 1,615 · 12,641 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 357 records for Denali Borough, Alaska from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 258 days; the most frequent are high wind and dust records (215 records). 357 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the December 6, 2014 avalanche, filed for the forecast zone Ne. Slopes Of The Ern Ak Rng, which covers the county: 1 death. FEMA has issued 10 declarations naming the county since 2000, 8 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Bear Creek Fire” on June 23, 2025.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

recorded, no damage figure
under $100,000
$100,000 or more
$1 million or more
$10 million or more, or a death
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death
1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
1996: all 48 event types from 1996

Storm records: 357on 258 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 22 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $8.6Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
FEMA declarations: 10latest 2025

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Denali Borough most?

The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 215 since 2001. The rank column places the county among Alaska's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Denali Borough: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Days	First, last	Killed	Injured	Damage	Rank in state
High wind and dust storms	215	157	2001-2026	0	2	$298K	15 of 29
Winter storms	108	85	2001-2026	0	0	$498	20 of 29
Extreme cold	14	5	2006-2012	0	0	–	18 of 29
Floods	14	13	2002-2005	0	0	$6.6M	11 of 29
Landslides and avalanches	4	4	2004-2025	2	0	–	12 of 29
Wildfires	2	2	2006-2015	0	0	$1.7M	17 of 29

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

When was the last damaging storm in Denali Borough?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 22, 2015 wildfire ($1.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

The Rex Complex Wildfire destroyed 6 homes and 2 other structures on Monday June 22nd roughly eight miles southwest of the town of Anderson. The wildfire also led to the evacuation of 25 residents.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 573353)

The 12 most recent records kept for Denali Borough
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-04-30	High WindDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough	65 kt wind	–
2026-02-18	Heavy SnowDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough		–
2026-02-14	Heavy SnowDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough		–
2026-01-11	BlizzardDenali Borough · forecast zone Southern Denali Borough		–
2026-01-10	Heavy SnowDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough		–
2025-10-12	High WindDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough	64 kt wind	–
2025-10-07	High WindDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough	61 kt wind	–
2025-04-16	High WindDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough	69 kt wind	–
2025-01-29	BlizzardDenali Borough · forecast zone Southern Denali Borough		–
2025-01-24	AvalancheDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough		–
2025-01-11	High WindDenali Borough · forecast zone Northern Denali Borough	63 kt wind	–
2015-06-22	WildfireDenali Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly		$1.2M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Denali Borough, most deaths first
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2014-12-06	AvalancheValdez-Cordova Census Area and 2 more · forecast zone Ne. Slopes Of The Ern Ak Rng A 35 year-old man perished in an avalanche on the 6th, two and a half miles east of the Richardson Highway in the Alaska Range, approximately 60 miles south of Delta Junction. He had been skiing in the back country with another man, who was also caught in the avalanche, but survived.		1	0	–
2004-04-10	AvalancheValdez-Cordova Census Area and 2 more · forecast zone Ne. Slopes Of The Ern Ak Rng An avalanche occurred in the Gun Creek canyon, during the annual Arctic Man Ski-N-Sno-go Classic held at Summit Lake. A 24 year old man was trying to free his snowmobile stuck near the bottom of the canyon. Two other traveling companions each left their snowmobiles and walked toward the man to assist him. The ...		1	0	–
2002-04-17	High WindDenali Borough · forecast zone Denali A 982 mb low pressure system and associated frontal system moved from the Pribilof Islands northeast across Norton Sound on the morning of the 17th, across northwest Alaska the night of the 17th, and offshore of the eastern Arctic Coast on the morning of the 18th.The warm front portion of the frontal system produced ...	55 kt wind	0	2	–

The costliest records in Denali Borough since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Damage
2003-04-25	FloodDenali Borough and 3 more · forecast zone Deltana And Tanana	$3.2M
2003-05-01	FloodDenali Borough and 3 more · forecast zone Deltana And Tanana	$3.2M
2015-06-22	WildfireDenali Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly	$1.2M
2006-06-08	WildfireDenali Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area · forecast zone Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly	$476K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Denali Borough's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Denali Borough: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	2000s	2010s	2020-26
High wind and dust storms	–	–	–	–	117	72	26
Winter storms	–	–	–	–	51	41	16
Extreme cold	–	–	–	–	11	3	0
Floods	–	–	–	–	14	0	0

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Denali Borough. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 66 · Feb 44 · Mar 15 · Apr 30 · May 9 · Jun 6 · Jul 6 · Aug 8 · Sep 34 · Oct 40 · Nov 50 · Dec 49 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Denali Borough

FEMA's register lists 10 declarations that include Denali Borough: 7 major disasters, one emergency and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and fire (2).

Declarations including Denali Borough, newest first
Declared	Number	Type	Title
2025-06-23	FM-5595	Fire	Bear Creek Fire
2022-06-26	FM-5442	Fire	Clear Fire
2022-03-24	DR-4648	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds
2020-04-09	DR-4533	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13	EM-3446	Biological	Covid-19
2012-11-27	DR-4094	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides
2008-09-26	DR-1796	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2006-10-16	DR-1663	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2002-11-08	DR-1440	Earthquake	Earthquake
2000-02-17	DR-1316	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms and Avalanches

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Denali Borough

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Denali Borough Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $11.2 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Denali Borough (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
Hazard	Risk rating	Expected annual loss	Modeled frequency
Avalanche	Very High	$6.2M	once in about 2 years (modeled)
Landslide	Relatively Low	$35K	31 a year (modeled)
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$806K	once in about 129 years (modeled)
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$1.8M	once in about 9 years (modeled)
Cold Wave	Relatively Low	$2.0M	6.3 a year (modeled)
Winter Weather	Relatively Low	$30K	17 a year (modeled)
Volcanic Activity	Very Low	$133	once in about 94 years (modeled)
Ice Storm	Very Low	$1K	once in about 67 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Denali Borough

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.