New Mexico wildfires
Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 27 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 162 wildfire records in New Mexico from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 5.7 a year since 2000. The deadliest was McBride Fire and Big Hole Fire (April 12, 2022) in Lincoln County: 2 deaths, 1 injury and $17.1 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 3 records. New Mexico ranks 16th of 48 states and territories by count and 22nd of 48 per square mile.
Wildfires in New Mexico, 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
- 1621996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 5.7average
- Deaths
- 550 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $2.9Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 202626 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 Mexico?
New Mexico averages about 5.7 wildfire records a year since 2000, 16th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (26). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Mexico records 13 wildfire records since 1996, 22nd 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 Mexico have the most wildfire records?
Per square mile, Los Alamos County leads New Mexico: 16 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 146.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Sandoval County has the most wildfire records (38 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 Mexico?
51% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in May and June. The busiest month is June (44 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2 · Feb 8 · Mar 16 · Apr 32 · May 38 · Jun 44 · Jul 16 · Aug 4 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 1 · Dec 1 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest wildfire records in New Mexico?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-04-12 | McBride Fire and Big Hole Fire · WildfireLincoln County · forecast zone South Central Mountains One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. As a storm system tracked to the north of New Mexico on April 11-12, 2022, it steered a potent polar jet over the state. With a continued deep surface low pressure system over northeastern New Mexico and ample deep mixing across all of northern and central New Mexico, windy conditions persisted. Winds peaked on April ... | 2 | 1 | $17M | |
| 2024-06-17 | South Fork Fire · WildfireLincoln County · forecast zone South Central Mountains The South Fork Fire was discovered on June 17th within tribal land along the Rio Ruidoso west of Ruidoso. It blew up in size within its first two days reaching 15,000 acres and destroying an estimated 1,400 structures. Two lives were lost, an as of yet identified person in a vehicle on Rainier Road due to the limited ... | 2 | 0 | $22M | |
| 2017-06-21 | WildfireQuay County · forecast zone Quay County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong dome of high pressure centered over the southwestern United States along with exceptionally dry air set the stage for a brutal heatwave over New Mexico for several days. The excessive heat starting building over central and western New Mexico on the 20th then spread eastward on the 21st before peaking on the ... | 1 | 4 | $60K |
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 New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-05-04 | WildfireLos Alamos County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 2000-05-04 to 2000-05-07; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.6B | |
| 2022-05-01 | Calf Canyon Fire · WildfireColfax County and 2 more · forecast zone East Slopes Sangre De Cristo Mountains One named storm filed by several offices: 2 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 3 | $126M | |
| 2012-06-04 | Little Bear Fire · WildfireLincoln County · forecast zone South Central Mountains | 0 | 0 | $33M | |
| 2011-07-01 | Las Conchas Fire · WildfireLos Alamos County and 2 more · forecast zone Jemez Mountains One named storm filed by several offices: 2 records in 2 episodes; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 0 | $23M | |
| 2024-06-17 | South Fork Fire · WildfireLincoln County · forecast zone South Central Mountains | 2 | 0 | $22M | |
| 2022-04-12 | McBride Fire and Big Hole Fire · WildfireLincoln County · forecast zone South Central Mountains One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 1 | $17M | |
| 2016-06-14 | Dog Head Fire · WildfireBernalillo County and 2 more · forecast zone Sandia/Manzano Mountains | 0 | 0 | $12M | |
| 2008-04-15 | WildfireBernalillo County and 5 more · forecast zone Sandia/Manzano Mountains | 0 | 0 | $12M |
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 Mexico?
New Mexico'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 Mexico | United States | New Mexico's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 5 | 510 | 1.0% |
| 2000s | 17 | 2,997 | 0.6% |
| 2010s | 57 | 3,650 | 1.6% |
| 2020-26 | 83 | 2,436 | 3.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent wildfire records in New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | WildfireRio Arriba County and Taos County · forecast zone Tusas Mountains Including Chama | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-24 | WildfireLos Alamos County and 2 more · forecast zone Jemez Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-23 | WildfireSan Miguel County and 2 more · forecast zone Central Highlands | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-21 | WildfireCatron County and Socorro County · forecast zone Southwest Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-20 | WildfireLincoln County and 3 more · forecast zone South Central Highlands | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-16 | WildfireLos Alamos County and 2 more · forecast zone Jemez Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-09 | WildfireCatron County and Socorro County · forecast zone Southwest Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-21 | WildfireSan Miguel County · forecast zone Eastern San Miguel County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-14 | WildfireLincoln County · forecast zone South Central Mountains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-14 | WildfireRoosevelt County · forecast zone Roosevelt County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-14 | WildfireQuay County · forecast zone Quay County | 0 | 0 | $20K | |
| 2026-05-14 | WildfireQuay County · forecast zone Quay County | 0 | 0 | – |
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 Mexico
FEMA has declared 75 disasters in New Mexico for wildfire, counting its incident type and declarations that name fire in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 3 were major disasters, the latest on June 22, 2025.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-22 | FM-5594 | Cotton 2 Fire | 1 |
| 2025-06-21 | FM-5593 | Desert Willow Fire Complex | 1 |
| 2025-06-16 | FM-5588 | Trout Fire | 1 |
| 2025-04-18 | FM-5579 | Rio Grande Fire | 1 |
| 2024-06-20 | DR-4795 | South Fork Fire, Salt Fire, and Flooding | 5 |
| 2024-06-18 | FM-5498 | Salt Fire | 3 |
| 2024-06-17 | FM-5497 | South Fork Fire | 3 |
| 2024-05-26 | FM-5492 | Blue 2 Fire | 1 |
| 2023-05-10 | FM-5465 | Las Tusas Fire | 2 |
| 2023-04-02 | FM-5461 | Echo Ridge Fire, Nm Fmag | 1 |
| 2022-05-04 | DR-4652 | Wildfires, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris Flows | 7 |
| 2022-04-30 | FM-5438 | Calf Canyon Fire | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Los Alamos County: the county's whole recordThe New Mexico 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 MexicoTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Drought in New Mexico6,408 records
- Hail in New Mexico5,297 records
- High wind and dust storms in New Mexico4,278 records