Ohio wildfire risk
Ohio sits in the lower half of US states for wildfire hazard, but lower does not mean none — hazard concentrates locally regardless of the statewide picture. This page covers current activity and how to check your own address.
Active fires in Ohio
Ohio's recorded fire history
Federal perimeter records show only 20 mapped wildfires in Ohio 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 Ohio
Wildfire hazard is not spread evenly across a state. These are the 5 counties in Ohio 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County | 63.0 | $1.4B |
| Brown County | 60.7 | $1.6B |
| Highland County | 60.3 | $1.8B |
| Cuyahoga County | 56.9 | $43.9B |
| Lawrence County | 53.2 | $594M |
Adams County carries the highest score in the state at 63.0. 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 Ohio ranks nationally
FEMA's National Risk Index scores every US county for expected annual wildfire loss. Across Ohio's 88 assessed counties the average wildfire hazard score is 25.1, which places the state 45th of the 50 states. The most exposed county in Ohio scores 63.0.
Against a 50-state average of 52.7, Ohio sits 27.6 points below it. Rank 45 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 $576.6B of building value sits inside Ohio'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.
Ohio wildfire season
Ohio 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 Ohio
Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio
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.