Kansas wildfire risk
Kansas 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 Kansas
Kansas's recorded fire history
Federal perimeter records list 119 mapped wildfires in Kansas since 2000. The largest on that record is the Tunner Fire of 2011, which burned 19,656 acres.
| Fire | Year | Area burned |
|---|---|---|
| Tunner Fire | 2011 | 19,656 acres |
| Big Salt Marsh Fire | 2010 | 3,698 acres |
| Steeler Fire | 2006 | 2,380 acres |
| Greenwood Fire | 2010 | 2,078 acres |
Recorded history feeds directly into your address score: our model counts mapped burns within 25 miles of a parcel, weighted toward large ones. It is worth knowing the limitation, though — a long record of successful suppression can leave an area reading quiet while fuel accumulates, which is precisely the condition that produces the next large fire.
Where hazard concentrates in Kansas
Wildfire hazard is not spread evenly across a state. These are the 5 counties in Kansas 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Butler County | 95.6 | $4.8B |
| Reno County | 95.5 | $3.0B |
| Comanche County | 94.6 | $378M |
| Sedgwick County | 94.4 | $15.0B |
| Barber County | 92.3 | $666M |
Butler County carries the highest score in the state at 95.6. 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 Kansas ranks nationally
FEMA's National Risk Index scores every US county for expected annual wildfire loss. Across Kansas's 105 assessed counties the average wildfire hazard score is 60.0, which places the state 20th of the 50 states. The most exposed county in Kansas scores 95.6.
Against a 50-state average of 52.7, Kansas sits 7.3 points above it. Rank 20 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 $133.2B of building value sits inside Kansas'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.
Kansas wildfire season
Kansas 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 Kansas
Kansas operates a FAIR Plan or equivalent residual market. Average hazard across the state is moderate, so most homeowners remain in the standard admitted market — but that is a statewide average, and parcels in the wildland-urban interface can face declinations regardless of the state picture.
Residual-market availability and the rules governing it change. Confirm the current position with the Kansas 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 Kansas
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.