Florida wildfires
Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 55 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 488 wildfire records in Florida from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 12 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 29, 2012 wildfire in Alachua County: 11 deaths and 18 injuries. Florida ranks 7th of 48 states and territories by count and 5th of 48 per square mile.
Wildfires in Florida, 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
- 4881996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 12average
- Deaths
- 15155 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $882Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 199997 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 Florida?
Florida averages about 12 wildfire records a year since 2000, 7th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1999 (97). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Florida records 91 wildfire records since 1996, 5th of 48 states and territories by that measure.
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 Florida have the most wildfire records?
Per square mile, Putnam County leads Florida: 40 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 54.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Putnam County has the most wildfire records (43 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).
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 Florida?
56% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in April and May. The busiest month is May (154 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 8 · Feb 19 · Mar 86 · Apr 117 · May 154 · Jun 46 · Jul 41 · Aug 6 · Sep 3 · Oct 2 · Nov 2 · Dec 4 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest wildfire records in Florida?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-01-29 | WildfireAlachua County · forecast zone Alachua Very dense fog from the Paynes Prairie wildfire produced zero visibility across Interstate 75 and Highway 441 during the early morning hours. A major car pile-up began around 3:45 am, with numerous vehicles involved including 6 tractor-trailers and at least a dozen passenger vehicles. Crashed extended for about a ... | 11 | 18 | – | |
| 2008-05-01 | WildfireHendry County · forecast zone Hendry Wildfires burning muck or peat exposed by ongoing dry conditions along the southwestern shore of Lake Okeechobee spread to over 15 miles long from near Lakeport to near Clewiston and covered almost 30,000 acres as of May 31. Multiple road closures occurred nearly every night through the period, especially along US 27 ... | 1 | 29 | – | |
| 2024-06-02 | WildfireBroward County · forecast zone Metro Broward County There was a large brush fire near North Dixie Highway, around NE 33rd St and 5th Ave, which began around 11am on June 2nd in Broward County. The fire was reported to the Pompano Beach Fire Rescue by drivers on North Dixie Highway. Despite several encampments in the wooded area, the cause of fire has not been ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2026-04-23 | Railroad Complex Fire · WildfireBaker County · forecast zone Baker One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Extreme to exceptional drought continued or worsened for the majority of the region throughout the month of April. This, combined with many days of breezy to gusty wind conditions, resulted in a number of wildfires that continued through the end of the month. | 1 | 0 | $1.0M | |
| 2010-12-28 | WildfireOrange County · forecast zone Orange A man was killed while trying to extinguish a wildfire in the Woodhaven subdivision in Orlando. The man had ignited a barrel fire in his backyard, and the barrel got knocked over onto the ground. The wildfire spread quickly as conditions were extremely dry across the Orlando area. The man became overwhelmed by the ... | 1 | 0 | – |
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 Florida
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-07-01 | Extreme Fire · WildfireCountywide, Brevard County One named storm filed by several offices: 10 records in 4 episodes, 1998-07-01 to 1998-07-10; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 82 | $688M | |
| 2020-04-03 | WildfireLee County · forecast zone Inland Lee | 0 | 0 | $114M | |
| 2008-05-11 | Brevard Fire Complex · WildfireBrevard County · forecast zone Brevard | 0 | 3 | $22M | |
| 1999-04-15 | Okeechobee Fire Complex · WildfirePort St Lucie, St. Lucie County | 0 | 0 | $18M | |
| 2007-05-08 | Suwannee Fire Complex · WildfireColumbia County · forecast zone Columbia | 0 | 0 | $15M | |
| 2017-04-20 | Avenue Fire · WildfireCollier County · forecast zone Inland Collier County | 0 | 1 | $4.2M | |
| 2026-03-21 | WildfireCalhoun County · forecast zone Calhoun | 0 | 0 | $3.5M | |
| 2017-04-21 | WildfireLee County · forecast zone Inland Lee | 0 | 0 | $2.1M |
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 Florida?
Florida'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.
| Decade | Florida | United States | Florida's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 132 | 510 | 25.9% |
| 2000s | 140 | 2,997 | 4.7% |
| 2010s | 124 | 3,650 | 3.4% |
| 2020-26 | 92 | 2,436 | 3.8% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent wildfire records in Florida
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-28 | WildfireBroward County · forecast zone Inland Broward County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-19 | WildfireMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Inland Miami-Dade | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-16 | WildfireMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Metropolitan Miami-Dade | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-15 | WildfireMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Metropolitan Miami-Dade | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-01 | WildfirePutnam County · forecast zone Western Putnum | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-01 | WildfireColumbia County · forecast zone Northern Columbia | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-01 | WildfireBaker County · forecast zone Baker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-23 | WildfireBroward County · forecast zone Inland Broward County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-18 | WildfireCollier County · forecast zone Inland Collier County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-10 | WildfireBroward County · forecast zone Inland Broward County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-09 | WildfireMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Coastal Miami-Dade County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-04 | WildfireAlachua County · forecast zone Eastern Alachua | 0 | 0 | – |
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 Florida
FEMA has declared 69 disasters in Florida for wildfire, counting its incident type and declarations that name fire in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on April 23, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-23 | FM-5632 | Cow Creek Fire | 1 |
| 2026-04-22 | FM-5631 | Railroad Complex Fire | 2 |
| 2022-03-06 | FM-5426 | Chipola Fire Complex | 2 |
| 2022-03-04 | FM-5424 | 1707 Adkins Ave Fire | 1 |
| 2020-05-13 | FM-5309 | 36th Avenue Fire | 1 |
| 2020-05-07 | FM-5308 | Mussett Bayou Fire | 1 |
| 2020-05-06 | FM-5307 | 5 Mile Swamp Fire | 1 |
| 2017-04-22 | FM-5180 | Indian Lake Estates Fire | 1 |
| 2017-04-22 | FM-5179 | Lehigh Acres (Anna Ave. N.) Fire | 1 |
| 2017-04-21 | FM-5178 | 30th Avenue Fire | 1 |
| 2011-04-27 | FM-2902 | Slope Fire | 1 |
| 2009-05-12 | FM-2819 | Martin County Fire Complex | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Putnam County: the county's whole recordThe Florida county with the most wildfire records per square mile
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