PlainHazard

Wisconsin wildfires

Every recorded wildfire record since 1996 · 11 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 31 wildfire records in Wisconsin from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 2.1 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the September 27, 2012 wildfire in Monroe County: 1 death, 2 injuries and $90,000 in damage in 2025 dollars. Wisconsin ranks 32nd of 48 states and territories by count and 34th of 48 per square mile.

Wildfires in Wisconsin, 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
311996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
2.1average
Deaths
46 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$3.1Mas filed
Busiest year
20106 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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin averages about 2.1 wildfire records a year since 2000, 32nd of 48 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (6). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Wisconsin records 5.7 wildfire records since 1996, 34th 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. 34. Wisconsin 5.7

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 Wisconsin have the most wildfire records?

Per square mile, Juneau County leads Wisconsin: 7 days with a wildfire record since 1996, 9.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Juneau County has the most wildfire records (7 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. Juneau County 9.1 (7)
  2. Monroe County 7.8 (7)
  3. La Crosse County 6.6 (3)
  4. Adams County 6.2 (4)
  5. Jackson County 3.0 (3)
  6. Trempealeau County 2.7 (2)
  7. Waushara County 1.6 (1)
  8. Vernon County 1.3 (1)
  9. Dodge County 1.1 (1)
  10. Clark County 0.8 (1)
  11. Sawyer County 0.8 (1)

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 Wisconsin?

81% of its wildfire records since 1996 fell in April and May. The busiest month is April (21 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 1 · Apr 21 · May 4 · Jun 1 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 2 · Oct 1 · Nov 1 · Dec 0 (records).

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

What were the deadliest wildfire records in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2012-09-27 WildfireMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe One woman was killed and another seriously injured from vehicle accidents that occurred in thick smoke from a wildfire. In the first accident, one vehicle was rear ended by another. While the drivers where standing between the two vehicles inspecting the damage, a third vehicle slammed into the back of one of the ... 1 2 $90K
2010-04-17 WildfireTrempealeau County · forecast zone Trempealeau A wildfire fatally wounded one person and injured two others in a cornfield south of Osseo in Trempealeau County. 1 2 –
2020-05-06 WildfireAdams County · forecast zone Adams One person died as a result of a small wildfire east of Cottonville. The cause of death was cardiac arrest related to extreme stress or exertion from the fire. The fire only burned about 3 acres and started as a result of burning debris. 1 0 $3K
2020-04-20 WildfireTrempealeau County · forecast zone Trempealeau An elderly Ettrick man died after sustaining burns trying to put out a grassfire. The fire started as a result of a burning pile of garbage. The automated weather observing equipment at the La Crosse airport indicated the relative humidity was around 35% with a a southwest wind gusting to around 20 mph at the time of ... 1 0 –

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 Wisconsin

Wisconsin: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2005-05-05 WildfireAdams County · forecast zone Adams 0 0 $1.5M
2009-04-17 WildfireAdams County · forecast zone Adams 0 1 $688K
2012-09-27 WildfireMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 1 2 $90K
2015-04-13 WildfireJuneau County · forecast zone Juneau 0 1 $71K
2020-05-06 WildfireAdams County · forecast zone Adams 1 0 $3K

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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin'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: Wisconsin and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeWisconsinUnited StatesWisconsin's share
1996-9915100.20%
2000s112,9970.37%
2010s103,6500.27%
2020-2692,4360.37%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent wildfire records in Wisconsin

The 8 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-11-16 WildfireWaushara County · forecast zone Waushara 0 0 –
2020-05-06 WildfireAdams County · forecast zone Adams 1 0 $3K
2020-04-20 WildfireTrempealeau County · forecast zone Trempealeau 1 0 –
2015-04-13 WildfireJuneau County · forecast zone Juneau 0 1 $71K
2012-09-27 WildfireMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 1 2 $90K
2010-04-17 WildfireTrempealeau County · forecast zone Trempealeau 1 2 –
2009-04-17 WildfireAdams County · forecast zone Adams 0 1 $688K
2005-05-05 WildfireAdams County · forecast zone Adams 0 0 $1.5M

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 Wisconsin

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Wisconsin 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, 1980.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1980-04-24FM-2039Spooner Fire, Washburn Co.1

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

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