Delaware wildfire risk
Delaware carries meaningful wildfire hazard without the acute insurance-availability crisis of the western states. This page covers current fire activity, how the state ranks nationally, and where hazard actually concentrates.
Active fires in Delaware
Delaware's recorded fire history
Federal perimeter records show only 4 mapped wildfires in Delaware since 2000. That is a genuinely low figure, and it is the main reason the state sits where it does in the national ranking. It is worth being careful with what it means, though: the record captures fires large enough to have a perimeter mapped by a federal agency, so smaller incidents handled locally do not appear.
Where hazard concentrates in Delaware
Wildfire hazard is not spread evenly across a state. These are the 3 counties in Delaware with the highest wildfire risk scores in FEMA's National Risk Index, with the building value each has sitting in exposed areas.
| County | Hazard score | Building exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Sussex County | 84.8 | $5.9B |
| Kent County | 64.9 | $1.7B |
| New Castle County | 60.6 | $3.9B |
Sussex County carries the highest score in the state at 84.8. If your address is there, or in any of the counties above, the statewide average understates your situation considerably — which is the reason to check the parcel rather than the state.
How Delaware ranks nationally
FEMA's National Risk Index scores every US county for expected annual wildfire loss. Across Delaware's 3 assessed counties the average wildfire hazard score is 70.1, which places the state 17th of the 50 states. The most exposed county in Delaware scores 84.8.
Against a 50-state average of 52.7, Delaware sits 17.4 points above it. Rank 17 of 50. The National Risk Index blends how often wildfire is expected with how much is standing in the way, so a state can post a moderate score with severe local hazard wherever development has pushed into the wildland-urban interface.
Roughly $11.4B of building value sits inside Delaware's wildfire-exposed areas. That figure is what drives carrier behaviour: insurers manage concentration of exposure, so a state can have modest average hazard and still see availability problems wherever that value clusters in the wildland-urban interface.
Delaware wildfire season
Delaware sees most wildfire activity during dry spells in spring and autumn, when cured vegetation and low humidity coincide. Activity is generally episodic rather than a sustained multi-month season.
Insurance in Delaware
Delaware operates a FAIR Plan or equivalent residual market, which matters because average county hazard here is high enough that admitted carriers do decline individual parcels. Residual market policies are typically restricted in what they cover, so check whether you need a separate policy alongside it for liability and theft.
Residual-market availability and the rules governing it change. Confirm the current position with the Delaware Department of Insurance before you rely on it.
Whatever the market looks like in your area, the sequence is the same: document mitigation before your renewal date, work with an independent broker who can access surplus lines, and ask directly whether the carrier credits wildfire mitigation. The full fire insurance guide covers non-renewal, FAIR Plans and difference-in-conditions wraps in detail.
Lowering your risk in Delaware
The two changes with the best return anywhere in the country are clearing the first five feet around the structure to non-combustible material, and screening vents against ember entry. Both are cheap, both address the mechanism that destroys most homes, and both are visible to an underwriter if you photograph and invoice them. What qualifies and how to document it.