Kentucky wildfires

Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 31 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 48 wildfire records in Kentucky from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 5.2 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the November 16, 2016 wildfire in Powell County: 1 death and 20 injuries. Kentucky ranks 24th of 48 states and territories by count and 25th of 48 per square mile.

Wildfires in Kentucky, 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: 481996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 5.2average
Deaths: 221 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $34Kas filed
Busiest year: 200423 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 Kentucky?

Kentucky averages about 5.2 wildfire records a year since 2000, 24th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2004 (23). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Kentucky records 12 wildfire records since 1996, 25th 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 Kentucky have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Lyon County leads Kentucky: 4 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 18.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Lyon County has the most wildfire records (4 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).

Lyon County 18.7 (4)
McCracken County 12.1 (3)
Trigg County 9.1 (4)
Wolfe County 9.0 (2)
McLean County 7.9 (2)
Marshall County 6.6 (2)
Livingston County 6.4 (2)
Perry County 5.9 (2)
Powell County 5.6 (1)
Bell County 5.6 (2)
Carlisle County 5.3 (1)
Fulton County 4.9 (1)

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 Kentucky?

54% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in February and March. The busiest month is February (23 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 1 · Feb 23 · Mar 3 · Apr 1 · May 0 · Jun 2 · Jul 1 · Aug 2 · Sep 3 · Oct 2 · Nov 10 · Dec 0 (records).

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

What were the deadliest wildfire records in Kentucky?

Kentucky: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2016-11-16	WildfirePowell County · forecast zone Powell On the morning of November 16th, near-zero visibilities developed on Mountain Parkway just east of the Slade exit as smoke became extremely dense at ground level. A 12 car pileup resulted, injuring approximately 20 people and causing one fatality as a man stepped out of his coal truck to help others. Mountain Parkway ...		1	20	–
2016-10-29	WildfireBell County · forecast zone Bell A volunteer firefighter was injured battling a brushfire in Bell County near Beverly. He suffered head and arm injuries when a tree limb fell and struck him along with the fire apparatus he was on. He later passed away on November 17, 2016 after being hospitalized at Pikeville Medical Center.		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.

Are wildfire records becoming more frequent in Kentucky?

Kentucky'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: Kentucky and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Kentucky	United States	Kentucky's share
1996-99	1	510	0.20%
2000s	29	2,997	0.97%
2010s	18	3,650	0.49%
2020-26	0	2,436	0

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Kentucky

The 3 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2016-11-16	WildfirePowell County · forecast zone Powell	1	20	–
2016-10-29	WildfireBell County · forecast zone Bell	1	0	–
2012-06-28	WildfireChristian County · forecast zone Christian	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 Kentucky

FEMA has declared 8 disasters in Kentucky 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 November 20, 2016.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2016-11-20	FM-5166	Southeastern Kentucky Fire Complex	4
2016-11-08	FM-5158	Eagles Nest Fire	1
2001-11-02	FM-2386	Ky - Eastern Fire Complex - 11/02/2001	6
2001-11-02	FM-2385	Ky - Southeastern Fire Complex - 11/02/01	10
2001-11-02	FM-2384	Ky - Kentucky River Complex - 11/02/01	1
2000-11-04	FM-2350	Ky - Eastern District Fire Complex - 11/03/00	6
2000-11-04	FM-2349	Ky - Southeastern District Fire Complex - 11/03/00	10
1999-11-20	FM-2288	Ky, Wildfires #001	3

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