PlainHazard

Michigan wildfires

Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 16 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 29 wildfire records in Michigan from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 1.8 a year since 2000. The costliest was the May 20, 2012 wildfire ($15.4 million in 2025 dollars). Michigan ranks 33rd of 48 states and territories by count and 36th of 48 per square mile.

Wildfires in Michigan, 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
291996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
1.8average
Deaths
04 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$30Mas filed
Busiest year
20075 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 Michigan?

Michigan averages about 1.8 wildfire records a year since 2000, 33rd of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2007 (5). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Michigan records 5.1 wildfire records since 1996, 36th 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. 36. Michigan 5.1

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 Michigan have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Macomb County leads Michigan: 2 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 4.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Marquette County has the most wildfire records (7 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. Macomb County 4.2 (2)
  2. Crawford County 3.6 (2)
  3. Oscoda County 3.5 (2)
  4. Baraga County 3.3 (3)
  5. Marquette County 2.8 (7)
  6. Luce County 2.2 (2)
  7. Roscommon County 1.9 (1)
  8. Keweenaw County 1.9 (1)
  9. Iosco County 1.8 (1)
  10. Kalkaska County 1.8 (1)
  11. Schoolcraft County 1.7 (2)
  12. Tuscola County 1.2 (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 Michigan?

69% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in April and May. The busiest month is May (12 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 8 · May 12 · Jun 0 · Jul 5 · Aug 2 · Sep 0 · Oct 2 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

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

The costliest wildfire records in Michigan

Michigan: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2012-05-20 WildfireLuce County · forecast zone Luce 0 0 $15M
2009-05-20 WildfireMarquette County · forecast zone Marquette 0 0 $5.5M
1999-05-02 WildfireRepublic, Marquette County 0 4 $3.5M
2024-10-18 WildfireBaraga County · forecast zone Baraga 0 0 $1.9M
2010-05-18 WildfireCrawford County · forecast zone Crawford 0 0 $1.1M
2008-04-24 WildfireCrawford County · forecast zone Crawford 0 0 $1.0M
2006-04-30 WildfireOscoda County · forecast zone Oscoda 0 0 $512K
2006-05-01 WildfireOscoda County · forecast zone Oscoda 0 0 $366K

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 Michigan?

Michigan'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: Michigan and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMichiganUnited StatesMichigan's share
1996-9945100.78%
2000s132,9970.43%
2010s73,6500.19%
2020-2652,4360.21%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Michigan

The 8 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2024-10-18 WildfireBaraga County · forecast zone Baraga 0 0 $1.9M
2012-05-20 WildfireLuce County · forecast zone Luce 0 0 $15M
2010-05-18 WildfireCrawford County · forecast zone Crawford 0 0 $1.1M
2009-05-20 WildfireMarquette County · forecast zone Marquette 0 0 $5.5M
2008-04-24 WildfireCrawford County · forecast zone Crawford 0 0 $1.0M
2006-05-01 WildfireOscoda County · forecast zone Oscoda 0 0 $366K
2006-04-30 WildfireOscoda County · forecast zone Oscoda 0 0 $512K
1999-05-02 WildfireRepublic, Marquette County 0 4 $3.5M

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 Michigan

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Michigan 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 May 6, 1999.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1999-05-06FM-2261Mi - Tower Lake Mountain Fire - 05/06/19991

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

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