Missouri wildfires
Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 38 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 103 wildfire records in Missouri from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 6.5 a year since 2000. The costliest was the March 14, 2025 wildfire ($15.0 million in 2025 dollars). Missouri ranks 18th of 48 states and territories by count and 21st of 48 per square mile.
Wildfires in Missouri, 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
- 1031996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 6.5average
- Deaths
- 09 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $20Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200018 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 Missouri?
Missouri averages about 6.5 wildfire records a year since 2000, 18th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2000 (18). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Missouri records 15 wildfire records since 1996, 21st 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 Missouri have the most wildfire records?
Per square mile, Hickory County leads Missouri: 5 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 12.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Camden County has the most wildfire records (8 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 Missouri?
52% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in March and April. The busiest month is March (41 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 5 · Feb 8 · Mar 41 · Apr 13 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 11 · Aug 5 · Sep 0 · Oct 7 · Nov 13 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
The costliest wildfire records in Missouri
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-14 | WildfireCarter County · forecast zone Carter One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $15M | |
| 2000-03-08 | Camden Fire Complex · WildfireCountywide, Camden County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 1 | $2.1M | |
| 2011-03-23 | WildfireOzark County · forecast zone Ozark | 0 | 0 | $656K | |
| 2012-08-30 | WildfireWebster County · forecast zone Webster | 0 | 1 | $386K | |
| 2012-07-29 | WildfireGreene County · forecast zone Greene | 0 | 0 | $321K | |
| 2018-02-15 | WildfireTaney County · forecast zone Taney | 0 | 0 | $294K | |
| 2012-01-09 | WildfireLaclede County · forecast zone Laclede | 0 | 0 | $257K | |
| 2022-10-22 | WildfireCooper County · forecast zone Cooper | 0 | 1 | $202K |
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 Missouri?
Missouri'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 | Missouri | United States | Missouri's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 8 | 510 | 1.6% |
| 2000s | 24 | 2,997 | 0.8% |
| 2010s | 42 | 3,650 | 1.2% |
| 2020-26 | 29 | 2,436 | 1.2% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent wildfire records in Missouri
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-29 | WildfireCamden County · forecast zone Camden | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-26 | WildfireCamden County · forecast zone Camden | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-13 | WildfireBarry County · forecast zone Barry | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-10 | WildfireCamden County · forecast zone Camden | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-19 | WildfireShannon County · forecast zone Shannon | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-19 | WildfireShannon County · forecast zone Shannon | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-19 | WildfireDouglas County · forecast zone Douglas | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-19 | WildfireDouglas County · forecast zone Douglas | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-03-18 | WildfireCamden County · forecast zone Camden | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-18 | WildfireTaney County · forecast zone Taney | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-03-14 | WildfireWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | $5.0M | |
| 2025-03-14 | WildfireCarter County · forecast zone Carter | 0 | 0 | $10M |
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 Missouri
FEMA has declared 2 disasters in Missouri 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 May 21, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4867 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires | 25 |
| 2000-03-09 | FM-2292 | Camden Fire Complex | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Hickory County: the county's whole recordThe Missouri county with the most wildfire records per square mile
- Wildfires across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MissouriTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- Severe thunderstorm wind in Missouri20,293 records
- Floods in Missouri10,821 records