Nevada wildfires

Are wildfire records common in Nevada?

Nevada averages about 2.7 wildfire records a year since 2000, 26th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2017 (6). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Nevada records 3.9 wildfire records since 1996, 39th 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. 39. Nevada 3.9

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 Nevada have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Carson City (city) leads Nevada: 16 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 110.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Washoe County has the most wildfire records (22 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. Carson City (city) 110.7 (16)
2. Storey County 60.7 (16)
3. Douglas County 23.9 (17)
4. Lyon County 5.5 (11)
5. Washoe County 3.3 (22)
6. Clark County 1.0 (8)
7. Churchill County 1.0 (5)
8. Pershing County 0.8 (5)
9. Elko County 0.5 (8)
10. Eureka County 0.2 (1)
11. White Pine County 0.2 (2)
12. Humboldt County 0.2 (2)

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 Nevada?

58% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (16 records).

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

What were the deadliest wildfire records in Nevada?

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 Nevada

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 Nevada?

Nevada'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.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Nevada

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 Nevada

FEMA has declared 90 disasters in Nevada 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 October 2, 2026.

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

Next

• Carson City (city): the county's whole recordThe Nevada county with the most wildfire records per square mile
• Wildfires across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
• Every natural hazard in NevadaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
• High wind and dust storms in Nevada3,232 records
• Winter storms in Nevada2,084 records
• Severe thunderstorm wind in Nevada1,061 records