US Wildfire Tracker
Delaware Fire Map: Track DE Wildfires Live in 2026
A Delaware fire map covers the second-smallest state, where wildfires are usually small brush fires along roads and fields — until drought turns them into something else. From November 2024 through February 2025 alone, Delaware logged more than 420 outdoor fires, against a typical annual average of about five.
What does a Delaware fire map show right now?
A Delaware fire map fuses official NIFC incident records, NASA VIIRS and MODIS satellite heat, NOAA GOES detections and National Weather Service fire-weather alerts into one view. US Wildfire Tracker shows all four free in any browser, refreshing automatically every few minutes while the tab stays open.
Delaware is the second-smallest state in the country at only 1,982 square miles, and its fire pattern matches that scale most years: a handful of small brush and grass fires rather than sustained forest fires. The Delaware Forest Service historically responded to around five wildfires a year between 2020 and 2023.
That changed sharply starting in 2024, when the Forest Service responded to 22 wildfires, followed by a surge of more than 420 outdoor fires statewide from November 2024 through February 2025, with Forest Service crews engaged on 15 of them. A live map is what separates a routine debris fire from one of those escalating incidents.
US Wildfire Tracker scores each detection on whether an official NIFC record is linked, how fresh the perimeter is and how recent the satellite heat is. Weak signals below 25 percent probability are hidden by default, and the app states plainly that hotspots can reflect prescribed burns or other non-wildfire heat sources.
When is Delaware's wildfire season?
Delaware's peak wildfire season runs from mid-April to early May, when vegetation is dormant and fine fuel moisture is low, according to the Delaware Forest Service. A second, less severe risk period follows fall leaf drop, when dead leaves and dry grass accumulate on the ground before winter.
Because Delaware has essentially no dry season in the Western sense, drought is the variable that turns an ordinary spring or fall into a dangerous one. The 2024-2025 season showed that clearly: by March 2025, roughly half of Delaware sat in severe drought, with the rest in moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
State Forester Kyle Hoyd described conditions bluntly that spring: "This is the worst I have seen for fine fuel issues in my 20 years with the Delaware Forest Service." He added that his office had already fought a wildfire with crown torching on 30- to 50-foot-high trees, an intensity of fire behavior Delaware rarely sees.
Delaware's brief but intense spring window echoes the pattern in our North Carolina fire map guide, where late winter through early May is also the highest-risk period, while the wildfire map guide explains how drought monitoring feeds into fire risk more generally.
Which agencies fight wildfires in Delaware?
The Delaware Forest Service, a division of the Delaware Department of Agriculture led by State Forester Kyle Hoyd, runs the state's Wildland Fire program and provides financial, technical and educational support to Delaware's 60 volunteer fire companies (VFCs). A full-time wildland fire supervisor coordinates that assistance statewide.
Local and volunteer fire companies handle initial attack across New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties. The Forest Service backs them with grants for personal protective equipment and wildland gear, a tool trade-in program for used hose and equipment, and federal surplus vehicle programs.
Delaware also punches above its size regionally: it is a member of the seven-state Mid-Atlantic Fire Compact and regularly sends trained wildland firefighters, Type 2 Initial Attack crews, brush trucks and dozers to help fight fires in other states, including the western United States, almost every summer.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Delaware Forest Service | Wildland fire program, grants and equipment for volunteer fire companies, prescribed fire, forestland fire prevention |
| Local volunteer fire companies | Initial attack and suppression across all three counties |
| DNREC (Division of Air Quality) | Open burning permits, air quality-based burn restrictions, ozone season rules |
| State Fire Marshal | Fire cause investigation and authority to ban open burning statewide or by county |
| Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) | State-level coordination, evacuation zones and public alerting during major incidents |
| Mid-Atlantic Fire Compact | Seven-state mutual aid and resource-sharing partnership |
Where do Delaware wildfires usually burn?
Most Delaware wildfires start downstate, in the rural, more heavily wooded stretches of western Kent and Sussex counties, along roadsides, field edges and the pine and hardwood stands surrounding the state's three state forests: Blackbird, Taber and Redden.
Delaware's most distinctive fire landscape is the Great Cypress Swamp, a roughly 50,000-acre peat wetland straddling the Delaware-Maryland line in Sussex County. Its deep organic soils have produced Delaware's most persistent fire history: an academic study documented 18 fires in the swamp between 1782 and 1941, including a roughly 3,000-acre blaze fought by 300 men — forest fire wardens, volunteer firefighters and farmers.
Because peat burns underground rather than across the surface, a swamp fire can smolder for weeks and resist the kind of quick knockdown that handles Delaware's more typical small grass and brush fires.
What are the largest wildfires in Delaware history?
The Delaware Forest Service does not publish a ranked list of the state's largest wildfires, and this guide will not invent one. What is verifiable comes from historical research on the Great Cypress Swamp and from recent Forest Service and news reporting.
| Fire or period | Year | Location | Acres / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Cypress Swamp blaze | Documented 1782–1941 | Sussex County / Maryland line | About 3,000 acres in one blaze; 18 documented fires across the period |
| Statewide, historical average | 2020–2023 | Statewide | Roughly 5 wildfires per year, Forest Service response |
| Statewide total | 2024 | Statewide | 22 wildfires responded to by the Forest Service |
| Outdoor fire surge | Nov 2024–Feb 2025 | Statewide | 420+ reported outdoor fires; Forest Service engaged on 15 |
For scale, NIFC recorded 77,850 wildfires and 5,131,474 acres burned nationwide in 2025 — Delaware's entire fire season, even during its worst recent stretch, would not register against a single large Western incident. The comparison matters less than the trend: Delaware's 2024-2025 numbers were roughly four times its recent annual average.
What weather drives Delaware fire danger?
The National Weather Service's Philadelphia/Mount Holly, New Jersey forecast office (NWS PHI) covers all three Delaware counties and issues a daily Fire Weather Planning Forecast 365 days a year, along with Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches when conditions warrant.
NWS Mount Holly issues a Fire Weather Watch or Red Flag Warning only when all three of these criteria are met: sustained wind of 20 mph or greater, relative humidity at or below 30 percent, and 10-hour time lag fuels below 10 percent moisture — a fuel-dryness measurement, not just a weather reading.
- Wind
- Sustained 20 mph or greater
- Relative humidity
- 30 percent or lower
- Fuel moisture
- 10-hour time lag fuels below 10 percent
- Forecast zones
- New Castle, Kent, Inland Sussex and Delaware Beaches
The forecast office also issues Spot Fire Weather Forecasts on request for active wildfires or planned prescribed burns, giving hour-by-hour wind, humidity and smoke dispersal data directly to the crew on the ground.
How did the 2024-2025 fire surge change Delaware?
Delaware's fire numbers jumped fast: from a five-year average near five Forest Service wildfire responses annually, to 22 in 2024, to more than 420 total outdoor fires reported statewide between November 2024 and February 2025 alone, with crews still fighting two fires a month in January and February and four in March.
The driver was drought layered on drought. By March 2025, the U.S. Drought Monitor classified 53.6 percent of Delaware as in severe drought and another 46.4 percent as in moderate drought — leaving almost no part of the state unaffected heading into what is normally its highest-risk season.
Delaware is where we learned that a state doesn't need mountains or millions of acres to have a real wildfire problem — it needs drought, dry grass and enough ignition sources. A state that normally sees five wildfires a year going to more than 400 outdoor fires in one winter is exactly the kind of shift a live map has to catch early, before residents assume "small state" means "safe from fire."The US Wildfire Tracker team — builders of the wildfire-map.org live map and Chrome extension
The Forest Service responded by urging residents statewide to refrain from outdoor burning, clear dead leaves and debris, trim trees near structures and create defensible space — standard Western wildfire advice applied, for the first time in many residents' memory, to Delaware backyards.
How does open burning work in Delaware?
Delaware splits its burning rules around what DNREC calls "ozone season." Open burning is largely prohibited from May 1 through September 30, with exceptions for camping, cooking and ceremonial fires. From October 1 through April 30, residential burning is allowed only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Residential burning is limited to small amounts — no more than 27 cubic feet at a time — of cut or fallen branches, limbs or shrubbery from the resident's own property, burned as far as practical from any neighboring property. Before igniting, residents must call their county fire board.
- Confirm the date falls in open burning season (October 1–April 30) and the time is between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- Call your County Fire Board before lighting anything: New Castle County 302-571-7331, Kent County 302-734-6040, or Sussex County's equivalent line.
- Keep the pile under 27 cubic feet and as far as practical from neighboring property.
- Check whether an Air Quality Action Day is in effect — all open burning, even previously approved burning, is prohibited on those days.
- Farmers, forest managers and fire companies burning for other purposes need written approval through DNREC's e-permitting system.
How do evacuations work in Delaware?
Delaware does not use a Ready-Set-Go or numbered evacuation-level system. The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) issues plain evacuation warnings or mandatory evacuation orders for defined Evacuation Zones when a disaster — wildfire included — exceeds local response capability, activating the State Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the response.
Residents are notified primarily through the Delaware Emergency Notification System (DENS), a CodeRED reverse-911 system that calls registered phones with emergency instructions, alongside county-level alerts and DelDOT evacuation route information for anyone who needs to leave.
Because Delaware's wildfires have historically been small and short-lived, formal wildfire evacuation orders have been rare compared to hurricane or coastal-flood evacuations. That is changing as fires grow larger and faster during drought years, which is part of why DEMA now includes wildfire explicitly among the hazards its Evacuation Zone system covers.
How do you track a Delaware fire in under a minute?
In a state where a "big" fire year still means only a few dozen incidents, a live map earns its keep by telling you quickly whether smoke nearby is routine or something that has outgrown local response.
- Open the live fire map and filter to Delaware, or use "fires near me" to list incidents within a set distance of your location.
- Check the probability tier. A low tier with no linked NIFC record during permitted burning hours often means a legal residential burn rather than an emergency.
- Compare "Last NIFC update," "Last satellite heat" and "Last GOES heat" — fresh heat with no official record yet, especially near the Great Cypress Swamp, is worth a second look.
- Check acres and containment, and note whether a Red Flag Warning is in effect for your fire weather zone.
- Sign up for DENS (CodeRED) and your county's alert system, since Delaware issues evacuation orders locally rather than through one statewide wildfire alert level.
- Use the directions-away links if you need to leave quickly, and follow instructions from local fire companies and DEMA over any other source.
Our fire tracker near me guide explains how the "fires near me" filter and proximity alerts work, and the current wildfires guide covers how to read containment and personnel numbers on any incident nationwide.
Smoke from even a small Delaware brush or swamp fire can linger over nearby neighborhoods, particularly from a smoldering peat fire in the Great Cypress Swamp. On the EPA's Air Quality Index, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups starts at 101 and Unhealthy — where some of the general public may see health effects — starts at 151, so check a live AQI source if you can see or smell smoke.
FAQ about the Delaware fire map
When is Delaware's wildfire season?
The Delaware Forest Service identifies mid-April through early May as the peak wildfire season, when dormant vegetation and low fine fuel moisture combine with spring winds. A secondary risk period follows fall leaf drop. Drought years, like the winter of 2024-2025, can extend elevated risk well outside those windows.
How many wildfires does Delaware have in a typical year?
Between 2020 and 2023, the Delaware Forest Service responded to roughly five wildfires a year on average. That jumped to 22 in 2024, and more than 420 outdoor fires were reported statewide from November 2024 through February 2025 during a severe regional drought, with the Forest Service directly engaged on 15 of them.
Do I need a permit to burn brush in Delaware?
Residential burning of small amounts of yard debris (up to 27 cubic feet) is allowed without a state permit from October 1 through April 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., after calling your county fire board first. Open burning is largely banned May 1 through September 30 (ozone season), and farmers, foresters and fire companies need written DNREC approval for other burning.
What triggers a Red Flag Warning in Delaware?
NWS Mount Holly, which covers all three Delaware counties, issues a Red Flag Warning only when three conditions are met together: sustained wind of 20 mph or greater, relative humidity at or below 30 percent, and 10-hour time lag fuels below 10 percent moisture. All three must align, not just the weather alone.
Does Delaware use Ready-Set-Go evacuation levels?
No. Delaware does not use a numbered evacuation system. The Delaware Emergency Management Agency issues plain evacuation warnings or mandatory evacuation orders for specific Evacuation Zones, with residents notified through the DENS CodeRED reverse-911 system and county-level alerts rather than a single statewide wildfire alert level.
Is US Wildfire Tracker an official Delaware fire source?
No. It is a free live map that fuses NIFC incident records, NASA VIIRS and MODIS detections, NOAA GOES heat data and National Weather Service alerts, with no account required. Satellite detections can lag by minutes to hours, so always follow the Delaware Forest Service, your local fire company and DEMA for official information and evacuation orders.
Track Delaware fires in real time
Filter to Delaware, compare the freshest satellite heat against any official NIFC record, and see National Weather Service fire-weather alerts over the same ground.