Bristol Bay Borough
Population 847 (2025) 481 sq mi
Large wildfires have burned 9,513 acres of Bristol Bay Borough since 1984, 15th most of 30 counties in Alaska; the largest was the Pauls Creek Fire in 2015.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Wildfire burn scars since 19841
At a glance
The record for Bristol Bay Borough in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Acres burned since 1984
9,513
15th of 30 in Alaska
1 large fire; the largest was Pauls Creek, 2015
DetailsSnowiest season
82.6in
Winter of 2011-12
Tornadoes
No tornado is recorded here in the Storm Prediction Center database, which begins in 1950.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
9,513 acres burned in 1 large fire since 1984, equal to 3.1% of the land.
Largest
June 21, 2015
Pauls Creek Fire, 9,678 acres
9,513 acres inside Bristol Bay Borough.
Most recent
June 21, 2015
Pauls Creek Fire
9,678 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Pauls Creek | 2015 | 9,513 | 9,678 |
- Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.
Smoke overhead
Smokiest year
2022: 9 days
Heavy smoke on 5 days in 2019, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
2.3 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
0 days
Medium or heavy smoke.
- A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.
NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Floods and flood insurance
No federal flood insurance claims are recorded for this county.
Flood events since 1996
- Coastal Flood6
- Flood4
OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.
Drought
NOAA’s county drought index covers the lower 48 states only.
Earthquakes and volcanoes
71 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 6.8 in 1912.
5
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
341
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
71
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
9
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
June 10, 1912
Event 48 Novarupta-Mount Katmai area, Alaska Peninsula; 47.2 miles away, 3.1 miles deep.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
October 11, 2026
Magnitude 3.4
61 km ESE of King Salmon, Alaska; 24.4 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
- Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
- Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Volcanoes within 100 miles
| Martin | 46.2 | High |
| Griggs | 47.8 | High |
| Mageik | 48.2 | High |
| Novarupta | 48.2 | High |
| Trident | 51.2 | High |
| Katmai | 54.1 | High |
| Ukinrek Maars | 54.6 | Moderate |
| Ugashik-Peulik | 59.8 | High |
| Unnamed (near Ukinrek Maars) | 61.0 | Low |
| Snowy Mountain | 62.1 | High |
| Denison | 68.7 | Moderate |
| Steller | 70.3 | Moderate |
| Kukak | 71.6 | Moderate |
| Kaguyak | 82.3 | High |
| Fourpeaked | 94.9 | High |
| Kialagvik | 98.9 | Moderate |
| Douglas | 99.1 | High |
- U.S. volcanoes within 100 miles, from the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The threat category is the USGS 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment, which ranks volcanoes by how hazardous their past eruptions were and how many people and how much infrastructure lie near them. It is not a forecast of eruption.
USGS Volcano Hazards Program, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Severe weather and other events
213 events in the National Weather Service record, 213 of them since 1996.
0
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
0
Hail, 2 inches or larger
0
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
87
Winter weather events since 1996
0
Heat events since 1996
5
Cold events since 1996
More event types since 1996
| Storm surge and tide | 5 | 0 |
| Avalanches | 1 | 0 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Aug 23, 2005Flood, Bristol Bay$1.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
The first major fall storm of the season hit the Bering Sea Coast the morning of August 23rd. This storm had two major impacts. Ahead of the associated front, strong wind whipped through south central Alaska. Behind the front, a high swell and sea was pushed into the Bristol Bay coasts coincident to one of the highest astronomical high tides of August. This resulted in a coastal storm surge approximately 2-3 feet above the maximum spring tide which caused significant flooding along lower lying villages of the Bristol Bay coast. Reports were received from Clark's Point that 4 homes were flooded by the surge, heavy equipment was swamped and the airstrip was under water. A family had…
- Feb 25, 2009High Wind, Bristol Bay$100,000
National Weather Service narrative
An intense hurricane force storm moved across the Aleutians into the eastern Bering Sea February 24th and 25th. This storm produced hurricane force wind as it moved through the region. This storm produced blizzard conditions along the Bering Sea coast from Bristol Bay north across the Kuskokwim Delta. Wind gusts were reported in excess of 100 mph in the Pribilof Islands and in Bristol Bay. Extensive damage occurred to many homes and buildings. This storm also produced a storm surge in the Bristol Bay region near Dillingham, Clarks Point and Ekuk.
- Oct 17, 2001Flood, Bristol Bay$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
Peak Flooding occurred approximately between 1500 - 1730 ADT. Actual heights above flood stage are unknown. Here is a summary of reports from around Bristol Bay...Clarks Point - the northern flats flooded - no damage was reported.King Salmon/Naknek - Naknek River over flowed its banks and threatened several homes and cabins. The Beach Access Road out to Peterson Point Cannery had the" worst erosion ever seen in such a short period of time" according to a representative of the City Borough Office. Areas were there were stairs going up to set-net cabins were completely destroyed and a good 10 foot section of the Bluff is now gone. A small boat at the Leader Creek dock was set adrift…
- Jan 25, 2001High Wind, Bristol Bay$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
An intense 955 mb low crossed Unalaska Thursday morning, moving into the southeast Bering Sea later in the day. Thestorm began to slowly weaken off the southwest coast of the State Thursday night and Friday, beginning its demise near Saint Lawrence Island Saturday.A strong frontal system, preceding the storm, moved north and northeast through the Alaska Peninsula Thursday, beginning to weaken in a long arc from northwest Alaska through lower Cook Inlet and across northeast Kodiak Island where it began to slowly dissipate Friday.Very strong southeast winds preceded the front Thursday and Thursday night...with strong southeast winds becoming more localized in advance of the front…
- Jan 22, 2000High Wind, Bristol Bay Coastal$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
A moderate front, extending from just west of Nunivak Island to just west of Cold Bay late Saturday, was preceded by brisk southeasterly winds across much of the southern mainland. By late Sunday, the front extended nearly north-south from Ambler to King Salmon, weakening from Fairbanks to Valdez and southeast late Tuesday morning. The front finally moved east into Canada and to near Cape Fairweather in Southeast Alaska late Tuesday.Across the Bristol Bay area, wind gusts reached 62 mph at Egegik and 61 mph at King Salmon late Saturday. A private weather system in Naknek measured a 71 mph gust at 9:20 pm Saturday. Wind and snow reportedly downed power lines around Naknek late…
- Jan 6, 2004Strong Wind, Bristol Bay$40,000
National Weather Service narrative
Gusty north wind to 48 mph in the Bristol Bay community of Dillingham blew airline freight "igloo" containers into two parked aircraft causing an estimated $40,000 in damage.
- May 23, 2008High Wind, Bristol Bay$25,000
National Weather Service narrative
People in Naknek reported wind gusts to 84 mph.
- Feb 24, 2009Coastal Flood, Bristol Bay$10,000
National Weather Service narrative
Reports of storm surge were received from the Dillingham Chief of Police that occurred in Naknek and Clarks Point.
- Jan 22, 1999High Wind, Bristol Bay Coastal$10,000
National Weather Service narrative
A major weather change, that began Tuesday, January 19th, gained momentum as the days moved ahead to Thursday, January 21st. A moderate 974mb low curved northeast to its position just south of Shemya at 3am Thursday. The front ahead of the low was preceded by brisk east to southeast winds. Brisk southeast winds spread northeast across the Bering, reaching the Pribilofs Thursday evening. Southeast winds also began to increase along the Alaska Peninsula, eastern Aleutians and southwest Alaska between 6pm and midnight Thursday. The winds were accompanied by brief periods of heavy snow and driving rain. Brief blizzard conditions were reported locally along the southwest Alaskan coast.…
- Oct 6, 2000Ice Storm, Bristol Bay Coastal$8,000
National Weather Service narrative
Warm air, overrunning a shallow cold air mass at ground level, produced a significant freezing rain event around the King Salmon/Naknek area. Electricity was disrupted for 45 minutes Friday and 3 hours Saturday due to the ice storm. Three power poles were downed.
- Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.
Weather records
From King Salmon, 8.2 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1942.
- All-time high
- 89°FJul 4, 2019
- All-time low
- −48°FJan 28, 1989
- Warmest night
- 61°FAug 27, 1951
- Coldest day
- −34°FJan 27, 1989
- Wettest day
- 1.67 inSep 1, 1960
- Snowiest day
- 17.8 inJan 26, 1993
- Hottest year
- 2019mean 43.0°F
- Coldest year
- 1956mean 27.6°F
- Wettest year
- 202230.83 in
- Driest year
- 19599.77 in
- Snowiest season
- 82.6 in2011-12
Median first snow
October 17
Earliest: September 20, 1956
Median last snow
April 29
Latest: June 11, 1996
0 of 73 winters had no measurable snow.
Station King Salmon (USW00025503), 144 ft elevation, 8.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1942 to October 26, 2026; 99.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.
NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.
Federal disaster declarations
4 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, April 9, 2020.
| Apr 9, 2020 | Biological | DR-4533-AK |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3446-AK |
| Feb 17, 2000 | Severe Storm | DR-1316-AK |
| Jun 24, 1974 | Freezing | DR-444-AK |
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.
How this compares
Where Bristol Bay Borough stands among 30 counties in Alaska and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 0 | — |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 0 | — |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 9,513 | 15 / 30 |
| Flood insurance claims | 0 | — |
| Flood insurance paid | $0 | — |
| Disaster declarations | 4 | 15 / 30 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 10 | 3 / 30 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 104 | 2 / 30 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 87 | 4 / 30 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $1.4 million | 7 / 30 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 0 | — |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 2.3 | 27 / 30 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 71 | 21 / 30 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 5 | 26 / 30 |
Neighbouring counties
| Lake and Peninsula Borough | 0 | 0 |
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
- Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
- Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
- Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
- Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
- Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00025503.
- River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
- Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
- Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.
Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.