PlainHazard

Puerto Rico wildfires

Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 50 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 47 wildfire records in Puerto Rico from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 4.7 a year since 2000. The costliest was the March 16, 2003 wildfire ($5.8 million in 2025 dollars). Puerto Rico ranks 25th of 48 states and territories by count and 3rd of 48 per square mile.

Wildfires in Puerto Rico, 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
471996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
4.7average
Deaths
02 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$13Mas filed
Busiest year
200511 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 Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico averages about 4.7 wildfire records a year since 2000, 25th of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2005 (11). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Puerto Rico records 137 wildfire records since 1996, 3rd 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

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 Puerto Rico have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Ponce Municipio leads Puerto Rico: 7 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 60.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Ponce Municipio has the most wildfire records (10 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. Ponce Municipio 60.9 (10)
  2. Utuado Municipio 44.0 (5)

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 Puerto Rico?

64% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in February and March. The busiest month is February (15 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 10 · Feb 15 · Mar 15 · Apr 0 · May 0 · Jun 5 · Jul 2 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

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

The costliest wildfire records in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2003-03-16 WildfireMaricao, Aibonito Municipio 0 0 $5.8M
2000-03-14 WildfireCentral Portion, Mayagüez Municipio 0 0 $3.4M
2005-02-01 WildfireAguada Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Mayaguez And Vicinity One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $1.8M
2005-02-20 WildfireAdjuntas Municipio and 6 more · forecast zone Western Interior 0 0 $1.2M
2023-03-31 WildfireAguadilla Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Northwest 0 0 $504K
2011-01-01 WildfireGuayama Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Southeast 0 0 $261K

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 Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico'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: Puerto Rico and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadePuerto RicoUnited StatesPuerto Rico's share
1996-9905100
2000s202,9970.67%
2010s253,6500.68%
2020-2622,4360.08%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Puerto Rico

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2024-03-13 WildfireAguada Municipio and 6 more · forecast zone Mayaguez And Vicinity 0 2 –
2023-03-31 WildfireAguadilla Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Northwest 0 0 $504K
2011-01-01 WildfireGuayama Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Southeast 0 0 $261K
2005-02-20 WildfireAdjuntas Municipio and 6 more · forecast zone Western Interior 0 0 $1.2M
2005-02-01 WildfireAdjuntas Municipio and 6 more · forecast zone Western Interior 0 0 $302K
2005-02-01 WildfireAibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior 0 0 $302K
2005-02-01 WildfireGuayama Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Southeast 0 0 $302K
2005-02-01 WildfireGuayanilla Municipio and 5 more · forecast zone Ponce And Vicinity 0 0 $302K
2005-02-01 WildfireCabo Rojo Municipio and 2 more · forecast zone Southwest 0 0 $302K
2005-02-01 WildfireAguada Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Mayaguez And Vicinity 0 0 $302K
2003-03-16 WildfireMaricao, Aibonito Municipio 0 0 $5.8M
2000-03-14 WildfireCentral Portion, Mayagüez Municipio 0 0 $3.4M

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 Puerto Rico

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Puerto Rico 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 October 24, 2009.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2009-10-24EM-3306Explosions and Fire5

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

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