New Jersey wildfires
Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 17 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 177 wildfire records in New Jersey from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 8.8 a year since 2000. The costliest was the June 2, 2002 wildfire ($1.1 million in 2025 dollars). New Jersey ranks 14th of 48 states and territories by count and 2nd of 48 per square mile.
Wildfires in New Jersey, 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
- 1771996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 8.8average
- Deaths
- 022 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $2.6Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200232 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 New Jersey?
New Jersey averages about 8.8 wildfire records a year since 2000, 14th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2002 (32). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Jersey records 241 wildfire records since 1996, 2nd 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 New Jersey have the most wildfire records?
Per square mile, Middlesex County leads New Jersey: 18 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 58.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Burlington County has the most wildfire records (32 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 New Jersey?
49% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in March and April. The busiest month is April (63 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 8 · Mar 24 · Apr 63 · May 18 · Jun 15 · Jul 26 · Aug 7 · Sep 3 · Oct 4 · Nov 9 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
The costliest wildfire records in New Jersey
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-06-02 | WildfireBeachwood, Ocean County | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 2007-05-15 | Warren Grove Fire · WildfireOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean | 0 | 2 | $712K | |
| 2025-04-22 | Jones Road Fire · WildfireOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean | 0 | 0 | $300K | |
| 2015-04-06 | WildfireHunterdon County · forecast zone Hunterdon | 0 | 2 | $6K |
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 New Jersey?
New Jersey'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 | New Jersey | United States | New Jersey's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 9 | 510 | 1.8% |
| 2000s | 91 | 2,997 | 3.0% |
| 2010s | 73 | 3,650 | 2.0% |
| 2020-26 | 4 | 2,436 | 0.2% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent wildfire records in New Jersey
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-13 | WildfireBurlington County · forecast zone Southeastern Burlington | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-04-22 | WildfireOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean | 0 | 0 | $300K | |
| 2021-03-14 | WildfireOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2015-04-06 | WildfireHunterdon County · forecast zone Hunterdon | 0 | 2 | $6K | |
| 2010-04-07 | WildfireSussex County · forecast zone Sussex | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 2008-10-21 | WildfireAtlantic County · forecast zone Western Atlantic | 0 | 7 | – | |
| 2007-05-15 | WildfireOcean County · forecast zone Western Ocean | 0 | 2 | $712K | |
| 2007-03-28 | WildfireBurlington County · forecast zone Northwestern Burlington | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 2002-06-02 | WildfireBeachwood, Ocean County | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 1997-11-06 | WildfireParsippany, Morris County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 1997-07-29 | WildfireNesco, Atlantic County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 1997-07-19 | WildfireCedar Crest, Ocean County | 0 | 4 | – |
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 New Jersey
FEMA has declared 4 disasters in New Jersey 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 April 24, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-24 | FM-5581 | Jones Road Fire | 1 |
| 2007-05-16 | FM-2695 | Warren Grove Fire | 2 |
| 2002-06-02 | FM-2411 | Nj - Double Trouble Wildfire - 6/02/02 | 1 |
| 2001-09-19 | EM-3169 | Fires and Explosions | 21 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Middlesex County: the county's whole recordThe New Jersey county with the most wildfire records per square mile
- Wildfires across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in New JerseyTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- Winter storms in New Jersey5,132 records
- Floods in New Jersey3,787 records