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Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2021 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Month	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	Colorado	December	Wildland/urban interface, Marshall Fire	$678.0
2	Illinois	June	Chemical manufacturing	160.0
3	California	November	Textile manufacturing	128.0
4	Wisconsin	February	Ship in for repairs	100.0
5	Tennessee	July	Cereal manufacturing	98.6
6	Nevada	January	Apartments under construction	35.0
7	Tennessee	March	Rubber manufacturing	35.0
8	Colorado	October	Apartment building (81 units)	30.2
9	Texas	February	Warehouse with foam products	26.0
10	California	January	Restaurant	25.2

(1) Large-loss fires of $20 million or more in 2021.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Reproduced with permission from Large-Loss Fires and Explosions in the United States in 2021 by Stephen G. Badger, ©2023 National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org.

THE TEN MOST COSTLY LARGE-LOSS FIRES OF 2008 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	California	Wildland	$800
2	Michigan	Steel plant	400
3	Georgia	Sugar refinery	275
4	Nevada	Hotel	100
5	Arkansas	Meat processing plant	100
6	Pennsylvania	Apartments under construction	75
7	California	Wildland	55
8	Maryland	Steel plant	50
9	California	Wildland	50
10	Georgia	Tire manufacturing plant	46

(1) Large-loss fires of $10 million or more.

Source: National Fire Protection Association.

THE TEN MOST COSTLY LARGE-LOSS FIRES OF 2009 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	Illinois	Casino pavilion	$340
2	California	Wildfire	100
3	Minnesota	Meat preparation plant	50
4	Texas	TV broadcasting vehicle	44
5	South Carolina	Wildfire	44
6	Indiana	Apartment building under construction	38
7	North Carolina	Produce warehouse	30
8	Ohio	Chemical waste recycling storage	30
9	Arkansas	Machinery parts manufacturing	25
10	Michigan	Single-family home	25

(1) Large-loss fires of $25 million or more.

Source: National Fire Protection Association.

THE TEN MOST COSTLY LARGE-LOSS FIRES OF 2010 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	Colorado	Wildfire	$217
2	California	Shopping mall	110
3	California	Outside natural gas explosion and fire	65
4	Illinois	Wastewater treatment plant explosion	52
5	Texas	Electronics warehouse	40
6	Missouri	Elementary school	29
7	California	Produce storage	20
8	Texas	Church	15
9	Texas	Sawmill	15
10	Utah	Church	15

(1) Large-loss fires of $15 million or more.

Source: National Fire Protection Association.

THE ELEVEN MOST COSTLY LARGE-LOSS FIRES OF 2011 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	Texas	Wildfire	$400
2	California	Plastic products storage	40
3	Texas	Wildfire	40
4	Texas	Plastic products storage	35
5	Kentucky	Chemical manufacturing plant	35
6	Michigan	Vehicle parts assembly plant	22
7	California	Power generation plant	20
8	South Carolina	Fertilizer manufacturing plant	20
9	Nebraska	Office building	20
10	North Carolina	Office building	20
11	Texas	Chemical manufacturing plant	20

(1) Fires/explosions causing $20 million or more in property loss.

Source: National Fire Protection Association.

THE TEN MOST COSTLY LARGE-LOSS FIRES, 2012 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	Colorado	Wildfire	$354
2	Maine	Submarine in dry dock	400
3	Colorado	Wildfire	114
4	Pennsylvania	Plating shop	75
5	Georgia	Vehicle parts manufacturing	50
6	Minnesota	Paper mill	50
7	Illinois	Galvanizing plant	31
8	Pennsylvania	Single-family home	25
9	California	Party goods store	25
10	Massachusetts	Transformers	22

(1) Fires/explosions causing $20 million or more in property loss.

Source: National Fire Protection Association.

TOP 10 MOST COSTLY LARGE-LOSS FIRES, 2013

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($ millions)

Rank	Month	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	June	Colorado	Wildfire	$421
2	April	Texas	Fertilizer manufacturing	100
3	April	Connecticut	Single-family home	50
4	January	Wisconsin	Egg processing plant	40
5	April	Arkansas	Aluminum die cast manufacturing	30
6	June	Indiana	Warehouse	20
7	July	California	Tunnel	17
8	October	California	Apartment building	15
9	December	California	Wildfire	15
10	February	Missouri	Restaurant	15

Source: Reproduced with permission from Large-Loss Fires in the United States, 2013 by Stephen G. Badger, ©National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics.

Top 10 Most Costly Large-Loss Fires, 2014

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($ millions)

Rank	Month	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	September	California	Pier	$100.2
2	October	Kansas	Airport flight safety building	61.5
3	March	Texas	Apartment building under construction	50.0
4	March	California	Apartment building under construction	41.0
5	March	Iowa	Meatpacking plant	30.0
6	May	California	Wildland/urban complex	29.8
7	December	California	Apartment building under construction	27.1
8	June	California	Yacht	25.1
9	December	Wisconsin	Cheese storage and manufacturing	25.0
10	August	South Carolina	Gas distribution plant	25.0

Source: Reproduced with permission from Large-Loss Fires in the United States, 2014 by Stephen G. Badger, ©National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics.

Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2015

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($ millions)

Rank	Month	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	September	California	Wildland urban interface fire	$1,500.0
2	September	California	Wildland urban interface fire	450.0
3	April	Kentucky	Appliance parts warehouse	110.0
4	April	Nebraska	Military fighter jet	62.0
5	March	Pennsylvania	Glass manufacturing plant	55.0
6	June	Pennsylvania	Fertilizer manufacturing plant	40.0
7	July	California	Church	31.0
8	September	California	Silk screening product plant	31.0
9	March	Idaho	Grain processing plant	24.0
10	August	Washington	Wildland urban interface fire	22.0

Source: Reproduced with permission from Large-Loss Fires in the United States, 2015 by Stephen G. Badger, ©National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics.

Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2016

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($ millions)

Rank	Month	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	November	Tennessee	Wildland urban interface fire	$911.0 (1)
2	August	California	Wildland urban interface fire (Clayton Fire)	174.6
3	March	California	Textiles warehouse	40.0
4	September	Minnesota	Warehouse	25.0
5	July	Washington	Unoccupied six-story mixed-occupancy building	20.0
6	July	California	Unoccupied six-story apartment building	20.0
7	July	California	One-story multi-tenant strip mall	18.9
8	June	Mississippi	One-story manufacturing plant	17.6
9	October	Oregon	Office building	17.2
10	April	Arizona	Unoccupied three-story apartment building	17.0

(1) The NFPA notes that latest information for this event is not available.

Source: Reproduced with permission from Large-Loss Fires in the United States, 2016 by Stephen G. Badger, ©National Fire Protection Association. www.nfpa.org.

Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2017

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($ millions)

Rank	Month	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	October	California	Wildland urban interface fire	$10,020.0
2	December	California	Wildland urban interface fire	1,775.2
3	July	Massachusetts	Apartments under construction	110.0
4	July	Hawaii	569-unit apartment building	107.4
5	April	Maryland	Apartments under construction	100.0
6	March	North Carolina	Apartments under construction	62.5
7	January	Florida	Paper mill	50.0
8	May	California	Apartments under construction	50.0
9	June	Massachusetts	Apartments under construction	45.0
10	March	Pennsylvania	Saw mill	35.6

Source: Reproduced with permission from Large-Loss Fires in the United States, 2017 by Stephen G. Badger, © 2017, National Fire Protection Association https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/US-Fire-Problem.

Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2018

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($ millions)

Rank	Month	State	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	November	California	Wildland Urban Interface fire, Camp Fire	$8,473.4
2	November	California	Wildland Urban Interface fire, Woolsey Fire	2,932.1
3	July	California	Wildland Urban Interface fire, Carr Fire	892.6
4	May	Kansas	University library	70.0
5	April	California	Apartment complex under construction	60.5
6	September	D.C.	Occupied apartment building	47.0
7	July	California	Wildland Urban Interface fire, Ranch Fire	30.3
8	July	Wisconsin	Printing facility	21.0
9	February	California	Single-family home	20.5
10	May	Missouri	Hog farm	20.0
10	August	California	Wood product manufacturing Plant	20.0

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: Reproduced with permission from Large-Loss Fires in the United States, 2018 by Stephen G. Badger and Matthew Foley, ©2019 National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org.

Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2019 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Month	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	Texas	November	Petrochemical plant	$1,100.0
2	California	October	Wildfire	383.8
3	California	June	Restaurant	36.0
4	California	June	Helicopter	30.0
4	Texas	July	Power generation plant	30.0
5	Ohio	February	Shipboard fire (In port for repairs)	25.0
6	California	October	Wildfire	20.5
6	Tennessee	September	Metal refining	20.5
7	North Carolina	April	Coffee shop gas explosion and fire	20.0
7	Massachusetts	March	Manufacturing	20.0

(1) Large-loss fires of $20 million or more in 2019.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org.

Top 10 Costliest Large-Loss Fires, 2020 (1)

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($ millions)

Rank	State	Month	Type of facility	Estimated loss
1	August	California	"Siege" wildfires (2)	$4,200.0
2	July	California	Navy ship under repair	3,000.0
3	June	California	Online sales warehouse	300.0
4	August	Minnesota	Hotel under construction	80.0
5	February	Georgia	Apartments under construction	61.0
6	January	New Jersey	Apartments under construction	51.9
7	May	North Carolina	Manufacturing, special equipment	50.0
8	May	Ohio	Apartments under construction	26.1
9	July	Massachusetts	Cold storage warehouse	25.0
10	February	Alaska	Village school building	20.0

(1) Large-loss fires of $20 million or more in 2020.
(2) Includes multiple wildfires.

Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.

Source: National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org.