PlainHazard

Arkansas wildfires

Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 55 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 178 wildfire records in Arkansas from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 16 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 7, 2020 wildfire in Washington County: 1 death and 2 injuries. Arkansas ranks 13th of 48 states and territories by count and 14th of 48 per square mile.

Wildfires in Arkansas, 1996 to 2026

Wildfire records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1781996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
16average
Deaths
117 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$13Mas filed
Busiest year
201170 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are wildfire records common in Arkansas?

Arkansas averages about 16 wildfire records a year since 2000, 13th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (70). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Arkansas records 34 wildfire records since 1996, 14th of 48 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 441
  2. 2. New Jersey 241
  3. 3. Puerto Rico 137
  4. 4. California 102
  5. 5. Florida 91
  6. 6. Oklahoma 88
  7. 7. Delaware 87
  8. 8. Washington 82
  9. 9. Oregon 77
  10. 10. Colorado 64
  11. 14. Arkansas 34

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Arkansas have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Searcy County leads Arkansas: 10 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 15.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Searcy County has the most wildfire records (13 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Searcy County 15.0 (13)
  2. Sharp County 11.6 (7)
  3. Pulaski County 10.5 (8)
  4. Polk County 9.3 (8)
  5. Bradley County 9.2 (6)
  6. Baxter County 9.0 (5)
  7. Montgomery County 9.0 (8)
  8. Garland County 8.9 (6)
  9. Pike County 8.3 (5)
  10. Hot Spring County 8.1 (5)
  11. Clark County 8.1 (8)
  12. Perry County 7.3 (4)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is fire season in Arkansas?

Arkansas's wildfire records by month. The busiest month is August (29 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 10 · Feb 15 · Mar 28 · Apr 5 · May 3 · Jun 12 · Jul 27 · Aug 29 · Sep 20 · Oct 14 · Nov 11 · Dec 4 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest wildfire records in Arkansas?

Arkansas: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-03-07 WildfireWashington County · forecast zone Washington Gusty wind resulted in a brush fire getting out of control and spreading near Nob Hill in Washington County. The wildfire trapped a woman between a barbed wire fence and the fire. The woman was severely burned, and was flown to a hospital where she later died from her injuries. Two people were also burned while trying ... 1 2 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest wildfire records in Arkansas

Arkansas: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2011-08-01 WildfireSebastian County · forecast zone Sebastian 0 0 $7.9M
2006-01-08 WildfireAshley County · forecast zone Ashley 0 0 $2.6M
2011-08-05 WildfireBenton County · forecast zone Benton 0 1 $656K
2011-03-20 WildfireVan Buren County · forecast zone Van Buren 0 2 $394K
2016-11-17 WildfireFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin 0 0 $307K
2011-08-05 WildfireHoward County · forecast zone Howard 0 1 $66K
2017-11-28 WildfireGreene County · forecast zone Greene 0 3 $60K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are wildfire records becoming more frequent in Arkansas?

Arkansas's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Wildfires: Arkansas and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeArkansasUnited StatesArkansas's share
1996-9905100
2000s72,9970.2%
2010s1703,6504.7%
2020-2612,4360.0%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Arkansas

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-03-07 WildfireWashington County · forecast zone Washington 1 2 –
2017-11-28 WildfireGreene County · forecast zone Greene 0 3 $60K
2016-11-17 WildfireFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin 0 0 $307K
2012-07-01 WildfireHot Spring County · forecast zone Hot Spring 0 1 –
2012-06-30 WildfireConway County · forecast zone Conway 0 3 –
2012-06-28 WildfireSaline County · forecast zone Saline 0 2 –
2012-06-20 WildfireFaulkner County · forecast zone Faulkner 0 1 –
2011-08-05 WildfireBenton County · forecast zone Benton 0 1 $656K
2011-08-05 WildfireHoward County · forecast zone Howard 0 1 $66K
2011-08-01 WildfireSebastian County · forecast zone Sebastian 0 0 $7.9M
2011-03-20 WildfireVan Buren County · forecast zone Van Buren 0 2 $394K
2008-01-29 WildfireSebastian County · forecast zone Sebastian 0 1 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for wildfire records in Arkansas

FEMA has declared 2 disasters in Arkansas for wildfire, counting its incident type and declarations that name fire in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 0 were major disasters, the latest on September 15, 2026.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2026-09-15FM-5676Bunker Fire2
2026-08-21FM-5673Pine Tree Road Fire1

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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