Wildland Fire

Hazard in Wildfire

A seasonal, fuel-and-weather-driven hazard that burns across forests and rangeland, with smoke reaching far beyond the fire line.

Plans also call it: wildfire, forest fire, brush fire, fire weather, red flag conditions

Talk to us about Wildland FireAll 73 hazards →

What you’d hand your council

The first page of a Wildland Fire evidence brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, every figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

Wildland Fire

Hazard in Wildfire, on the established threats & hazards list

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
3

Possible — Expected occasionally — roughly once in 10 to 50 years (2–10% chance in any year).

Impact
4

Major — Severe effects — casualties possible, serious damage across a significant share of the jurisdiction, essential services disrupted for weeks, outside assistance needed.

Readiness
3

Moderate — The organization has a generally established capability to manage this threat or hazard, but identifiable gaps remain. The organization could likely perform many required actions, though effectiveness may vary depending on conditions, staffing, resources, or complexity.

  • 2source documents
  • 58verified mentions
  • 2federal declarations
  • 91.6NRI score, relatively high
Worked example: Cedar Ridge County is fictional. The scores illustrate the format and are nobody's decision. Open a full sample brief →

The national record

FEMA National Risk Index: Wildfire

$3.9B
expected loss a year, nationally
75
counties rated high or very high

Your county’s own rating is the first thing we pull.

How it maps

The same hazard in the vocabularies your plan and FEMA already use.

FEMA National Risk Index
Wildfire (WFIR)one of the 18 hazards NRI scores per county
FEMA declaration incident type
Fire1,785 declarations on record
NOAA Storm Events type
Wildfire
Hazzard category
Wildfire, natural hazards

How it connects

The national record

What the federal data says about Wildland Fire

The same national sources a Hazzard brief starts from. For your jurisdiction we narrow each one to your county and its neighbors.

Where Wildland Fire is rated high

Share of each state's counties FEMA rates Relatively High or Very High

Alabama: 0 of 67 counties rated high (0%) · $8M expected loss a yearAlaska: 0 of 29 counties rated high (0%) · $32M expected loss a yearArizona: 11 of 15 counties rated high (73%) · $228M expected loss a yearArkansas: 0 of 75 counties rated high (0%) · $13M expected loss a yearCalifornia: 30 of 58 counties rated high (52%) · $1.8B expected loss a yearColorado: 5 of 64 counties rated high (8%) · $211M expected loss a yearConnecticut: 0 of 9 counties rated high (0%) · $313K expected loss a yearDelaware: 0 of 3 counties rated high (0%) · $759K expected loss a yearDistrict of Columbia: 0 of 1 counties rated high (0%) · $12K expected loss a yearFlorida: 0 of 67 counties rated high (0%) · $112M expected loss a yearGeorgia: 0 of 159 counties rated high (0%) · $15M expected loss a yearHawaii: 2 of 5 counties rated high (40%) · $47M expected loss a yearIdaho: 3 of 44 counties rated high (7%) · $143M expected loss a yearIllinois: 0 of 102 counties rated high (0%) · $510K expected loss a yearIndiana: 0 of 92 counties rated high (0%) · $710K expected loss a yearIowa: 0 of 99 counties rated high (0%) · $5M expected loss a yearKansas: 0 of 105 counties rated high (0%) · $50M expected loss a yearKentucky: 0 of 120 counties rated high (0%) · $8M expected loss a yearLouisiana: 0 of 64 counties rated high (0%) · $7M expected loss a yearMaine: 0 of 16 counties rated high (0%) · $248K expected loss a yearMaryland: 0 of 24 counties rated high (0%) · $3M expected loss a yearMassachusetts: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $795K expected loss a yearMichigan: 0 of 83 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearMinnesota: 0 of 87 counties rated high (0%) · $12M expected loss a yearMississippi: 0 of 82 counties rated high (0%) · $12M expected loss a yearMissouri: 0 of 115 counties rated high (0%) · $8M expected loss a yearMontana: 1 of 56 counties rated high (2%) · $73M expected loss a yearNebraska: 0 of 93 counties rated high (0%) · $21M expected loss a yearNevada: 4 of 17 counties rated high (24%) · $157M expected loss a yearNew Hampshire: 0 of 10 counties rated high (0%) · $387K expected loss a yearNew Jersey: 0 of 21 counties rated high (0%) · $14M expected loss a yearNew Mexico: 5 of 33 counties rated high (15%) · $113M expected loss a yearNew York: 0 of 62 counties rated high (0%) · $1M expected loss a yearNorth Carolina: 0 of 100 counties rated high (0%) · $14M expected loss a yearNorth Dakota: 0 of 53 counties rated high (0%) · $16M expected loss a yearOhio: 0 of 88 counties rated high (0%) · $1M expected loss a yearOklahoma: 0 of 77 counties rated high (0%) · $60M expected loss a yearOregon: 5 of 36 counties rated high (14%) · $126M expected loss a yearPennsylvania: 0 of 67 counties rated high (0%) · $1M expected loss a yearRhode Island: 0 of 5 counties rated high (0%) · $44K expected loss a yearSouth Carolina: 0 of 46 counties rated high (0%) · $15M expected loss a yearSouth Dakota: 0 of 66 counties rated high (0%) · $42M expected loss a yearTennessee: 0 of 95 counties rated high (0%) · $4M expected loss a yearTexas: 0 of 254 counties rated high (0%) · $126M expected loss a yearUtah: 4 of 29 counties rated high (14%) · $197M expected loss a yearVermont: 0 of 14 counties rated high (0%) · $119K expected loss a yearVirginia: 0 of 133 counties rated high (0%) · $4M expected loss a yearWashington: 5 of 39 counties rated high (13%) · $173M expected loss a yearWest Virginia: 0 of 55 counties rated high (0%) · $3M expected loss a yearWisconsin: 0 of 72 counties rated high (0%) · $2M expected loss a yearWyoming: 0 of 23 counties rated high (0%) · $24M expected loss a year
  • None
  • Up to 10%
  • 10–25%
  • 25–50%
  • Over 50%
  • Not rated
FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, county table

1,785 federal declarations since 1953

Declarations FEMA filed as “Fire”, by year (2026 to date)

0601201953: 1 declaration1956: 1 declaration1960: 1 declaration1961: 1 declaration1967: 1 declaration1970: 3 declarations1971: 3 declarations1973: 10 declarations1974: 2 declarations1975: 2 declarations1976: 7 declarations1977: 6 declarations1978: 3 declarations1979: 7 declarations1980: 3 declarations1981: 5 declarations1982: 1 declaration1983: 2 declarations1984: 4 declarations1985: 10 declarations1986: 1 declaration1987: 8 declarations1988: 7 declarations1989: 1 declaration1990: 6 declarations1991: 4 declarations1992: 8 declarations1993: 8 declarations1994: 20 declarations1995: 4 declarations1996: 80 declarations1997: 3 declarations1998: 57 declarations1999: 44 declarations2000: 67 declarations2001: 47 declarations2002: 71 declarations2003: 50 declarations2004: 44 declarations2005: 39 declarations2006: 89 declarations2007: 62 declarations2008: 54 declarations2009: 51 declarations2010: 18 declarations2011: 116 declarations2012: 52 declarations2013: 32 declarations2014: 35 declarations2015: 37 declarations2016: 51 declarations2017: 64 declarations2018: 57 declarations2019: 25 declarations2020: 82 declarations2021: 48 declarations2022: 34 declarations2023: 31 declarations2024: 69 declarations2025: 70 declarations2026 (to date): 66 declarations2011: 1161960197019801990200020102020
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, as of 2026-09-27. Counts distinct disasters; major, emergency and fire-management declarations.

In your plan

What a Wildland Fire profile needs, and where each part comes from

A local hazard mitigation plan profiles each hazard the same way (44 CFR 201.6). Here is how Hazzard fills each part for Wildland Fire.

  1. Location

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wildland Fire for every county. We place yours against its neighbors and the state, then add what your plans map in more detail.

  2. Extent

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    The magnitude your plans use for Wildland Fire (a scale, a depth, an acreage, a duration), read from your documents and cited, so the profile states the strength you plan for.

  3. Previous occurrences

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    Every FEMA declaration filed as Fire that included your county, back to 1953, alongside the events your own records and after-action reports describe.

  4. Probability of future events

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    NRI's annualized frequency for your county, and the declaration history, drafted into a likelihood on your own scale for your team to accept or change.

  5. Vulnerability and impacts

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(ii)

    National data

    NRI's expected annual loss and social vulnerability for your county, the Census population profile and HHS emPOWER counts, with the impacts your plans already describe.

  6. The assessment itself

    Your team decides

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Wildland Fire are drafted with every source attached, and a person on your team accepts each one. Hazzard never records a score on its own.

How we can help

How we’d help you prepare for Wildland Fire

  1. 1

    We pull your county's record

    NRI's wildfire rating and expected loss, fire declarations, and the dry-season climate record for your county.

  2. 2

    We read the plans you already have

    Your hazard mitigation plan and community wildfire protection plan, so what they say about Wildland Fire is cited to the page.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Wildland Fire on your own scale, every figure tied to its source, ready for the planning team or the council.

Also in Wildfire

Preparing for Wildland Fire

Prepare for Wildland Fire with evidence your council can check.

Wildfire risk concentrates where the land meets the neighborhood. We bring your county's record and your protection plans together so the interface is argued from evidence, not from a map alone. A person replies within one business day.

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