Dillingham Census Area

Population 4,483 (2025) 18,336 sq mi

Large wildfires have burned 481,380 acres of Dillingham Census Area since 1984, 8th most of 30 counties in Alaska; the largest was the Koktuli River Fire in 2022.

Hazard fingerprint for Dillingham Census Area Tornado: 0th percentile. Tropical: 0th percentile. Wildfire: 60th percentile. Flood: 0th percentile. Hail & wind: 0th percentile. Heat: 0th percentile. Cold: 0th percentile. Winter: 1th percentile. TORTROPFIREFLOODSEVEREHEATCOLDWINTER

Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed

2026
  • Wildfire burn scars since 198425

At a glance

The record for Dillingham Census Area in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.

Acres burned since 1984

481,380

8th of 30 in Alaska

25 large fires; the largest was Koktuli River, 2022

Details

Largest earthquake within 50 mi

6.6magnitude

May 1, 1990, 32.7 miles away

Details

Federal disaster declarations

6

Most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, 2020

Details

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

481,380 acres burned in 25 large fires since 1984, equal to 4.1% of the land.

Largest

June 9, 2022

Koktuli River Fire, 296,617 acres

176,909 acres inside Dillingham Census Area.

Most recent

June 9, 2022

Iowithla River Fire

43,389 acres in total.

Acres burned since 1984, cumulative 1989: 4,7191991: 11,8882012: 15,1982013: 2,4972015: 37,6682016: 2392017: 1,1602019: 42,4862020: 5,5992022: 359,925 481,380 acres 198519901995200020052010201520202025
Running total of acres burned inside the county (line) and each year’s acres (bars).

Every large fire

Large wildfires since 1984
Iowithla River202243,42443,389
Kiknik202298,92199,643
Ongoke River20221,4821,481
Koktuli River2022176,909296,617
Kokwok202232,51532,494
Tuklung River20226,6716,667
Titnuk Creek20205,5995,598
Lower Klutuk20195,4205,994
Taylor Mountains20192,4422,441
Ethel Creek201931,78831,791
Ongivinuk River20192,8342,834
Kenakuchuk Creek20171,1601,156
Hook Creek20162398,266
Little Kokwok20152,2332,232
Copenhagen20153,2073,203
Gemuk River20151,0011,003
King Salmon River 120152,4182,415
Chichitnok River20154,6284,627
Copenhagen Creek20155,3355,331
Gechiak Lake201516,91916,911
Kokwok River20151,9231,924
Nuyakuk River20132,4962,496
Snake River201215,19715,228
Twin199111,88811,882
Shotgun Dr.19894,7195,464
  1. 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 4 days in 2022, the most of any year.

Last 10 years

2.0 days a year

Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.

2025

1 day

Medium or heavy smoke.

Days with medium or heavy smoke overhead, by year 2011: 0 2012: 0 2013: 2 2014: 1 2015: 2 2016: 0 2017: 1 2018: 0 2019: 6 2020: 2 2021: 0 2022: 9 9 2023: 0 2024: 1 2025: 1 201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Days each year on which a satellite-traced plume of medium or heavy smoke covered the county’s population centre, 2011 to 2025.
  1. 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.

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

Most severe crest

April 29, 2005

[INACTIVE] Nushagak River at Ekwok, 16.94 ft

0.44 feet above the 16.5 ft flood stage; minor flooding by today’s categories.

Highest river crests above flood stage
Apr 29, 2005[INACTIVE] Nushagak River at Ekwok16.94+0.44Minor
Jun 21, 1988Nuyakuk River near Dillingham11.35+0.35Minor
May 28, 2015Nuyakuk River near Dillingham11.31+0.31Minor
Jun 12, 2005Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.92−0.08Action
Jun 19, 1994Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.68−0.32Action
Jun 8, 1993Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.63−0.37Action
Jul 2, 1977Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.49−0.51Action
Jun 8, 2009Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.34−0.66Action
Jun 18, 1989Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.34−0.66Action
Jun 9, 1995Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.08−0.92Action
Oct 4, 1991Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.04−0.96Action
Jun 20, 1969Nuyakuk River near Dillingham10.01−0.99Action
May 24, 2016Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.76−1.24Action
Jun 21, 2008Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.76−1.24Action
Jun 21, 2012Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.76−1.24Action
Jun 24, 2013Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.65−1.35Action
Jun 25, 1958Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.65−1.35Action
Jul 4, 1986Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.60−1.40Action
Jun 18, 2010Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.57−1.43Action
Jun 13, 2011Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.47−1.53Below flood stage
Jun 3, 2004Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.19−1.81Below flood stage
Nov 8, 2002Nuyakuk River near Dillingham9.07−1.93Below flood stage
Jul 4, 1982Nuyakuk River near Dillingham8.78−2.22Below flood stage
Jul 8, 1984Nuyakuk River near Dillingham8.72−2.28Below flood stage
Oct 30, 2013Nuyakuk River near Dillingham8.30−2.70Below flood stage

River gauges

River gauges and their highest listed crests
Nuyakuk River near Dillingham11.011.35 ftJun 21, 19880
[INACTIVE] Nushagak River at Ekwok16.516.94 ftApr 29, 20050
  1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Drought

NOAA’s county drought index covers the lower 48 states only.

Earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis

27 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 6.6 in 1990.

64

Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973

139

Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973

27

Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900

4

Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900

Largest within 50 miles

May 1, 1990

Magnitude 6.6

19 km SSE of King Salmon, Alaska; 32.7 miles away, 156.6 miles deep.

Most recent, magnitude 3 or more

July 15, 2026

Magnitude 3.2

105 km NNW of Aleknagik, Alaska; inside the county.

Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles, by year 1973: 0 1974: 0 1975: 0 1976: 2 1977: 0 1978: 0 1979: 0 1980: 1 1981: 0 1982: 0 1983: 3 1984: 2 1985: 1 1986: 1 1987: 0 1988: 1 1989: 3 1990: 4 1991: 4 1992: 6 1993: 2 1994: 5 1995: 5 1996: 2 1997: 2 1998: 2 1999: 0 2000: 3 2001: 4 2002: 0 2003: 3 2004: 5 2005: 11 11 2006: 3 2007: 2 2008: 2 2009: 2 2010: 6 2011: 5 2012: 3 2013: 1 2014: 1 2015: 8 2016: 6 2017: 3 2018: 1 2019: 2 2020: 1 2021: 2 2022: 1 2023: 2 2024: 5 2025: 8 19731978198319881993199820032008201320182023
Per year, 1973 to 2025.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

Earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
Jul 15, 20264.9Inside2.0106 km NNW of Aleknagik, Alaska
Jul 23, 20165.537.2126.526 km SSE of King Salmon, Alaska
May 30, 20164.129.7124.820 km S of King Salmon, Alaska
Jun 13, 20104.947.69.3Alaska Peninsula
Jul 12, 20074.410.23.948 km W of Iliamna, Alaska
Mar 25, 20064.242.9120.135 km E of King Salmon, Alaska
May 26, 20054.322.212.471 km SE of Chuathbaluk, Alaska
May 26, 20054.629.212.451 km SE of Chuathbaluk, Alaska
Jan 13, 20044.232.3125.018 km SSE of King Salmon, Alaska
Feb 27, 20035.339.2123.737 km S of King Salmon, Alaska
Sep 25, 20014.023.79.368 km WSW of Egegik, Alaska
Nov 6, 19944.37.63.718 km W of Naknek, Alaska
Feb 10, 19944.4Inside6.276 km NNW of Aleknagik, Alaska
Feb 8, 19944.0Inside-1.979 km NW of Aleknagik, Alaska
Jun 29, 19934.443.2104.234 km ESE of King Salmon, Alaska
May 15, 19924.20.90.010 km SE of Togiak, Alaska
May 1, 19906.632.7156.619 km SSE of King Salmon, Alaska
Sep 2, 19884.242.9123.733 km ESE of King Salmon, Alaska
Jan 27, 19864.142.990.945 km SW of Egegik, Alaska
Sep 25, 19854.649.0117.617 km ENE of Newhalen, Alaska
Nov 18, 19844.626.4127.813 km S of King Salmon, Alaska
Jul 25, 19844.135.720.523 km SSW of Sleetmute, Alaska
Aug 4, 19834.030.720.549 km SW of Red Devil, Alaska
Apr 20, 19834.536.0129.734 km S of Igiugig, Alaska
Jan 30, 19834.616.520.552 km S of Chuathbaluk, Alaska
Mar 6, 19764.539.296.316 km E of Egegik, Alaska
Jun 3, 19175.943.121.710 km SE of Egegik, Alaska
  1. 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).
  2. 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.

Tsunamis

Highest water recorded

Mar 28, 1964

1.0 ft, Aleknagik Lake, AK

From Prince William Sound, AK (magnitude 9.2 earthquake).

On record

1 tsunami

Since 1964.

Tsunamis recorded here
Mar 28, 1964Prince William Sound, AK, M9.21.010
  1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

Volcanoes within 100 miles
Ukinrek Maars74.3Moderate299
Martin81.2High6,112
Ugashik-Peulik81.5High4,836
Griggs83.2High7,602
Mageik83.5High7,103
Novarupta83.7High2,759
Trident86.7High6,115
Katmai89.6High6,716
Augustine92.9Very high4,108
Unnamed (near Ukinrek Maars)93.4Low984
Snowy Mountain97.3High7,093
  1. 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

3 events in the National Weather Service record, 3 of them since 1996.

0

Hail reports, 1 inch or larger

0

Hail, 2 inches or larger

0

Damaging gusts, 58 mph+

2

Winter weather events since 1996

0

Heat events since 1996

0

Cold events since 1996

  1. 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

No weather station within 40 miles has the 30 years of complete, current records this section needs.

Federal disaster declarations

6 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, April 9, 2020.

Federal disaster declarations
Apr 9, 2020BiologicalCovid-19 PandemicMajor disasterDR-4533-AK
Mar 13, 2020BiologicalCovid-19EmergencyEM-3446-AK
Dec 22, 2011Severe StormSevere Winter Storms and FloodingMajor disasterDR-4050-AK
Jun 26, 2002FloodFloodingMajor disasterDR-1423-AK
Feb 17, 2000Severe StormSevere Winter Storms and AvalanchesMajor disasterDR-1316-AK
May 10, 1989FreezingSevere FreezingMajor disasterDR-826-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 Dillingham Census Area stands among 30 counties in Alaska and 3,143 in the United States.

Ranks
Tornadoes since 19500——
Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger0——
Tropical cyclones within 50 mi0——
Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi0——
Wildfire acres since 1984481,3808 / 30100 / 3,143
Flood insurance claims0——
Flood insurance paid$0——
Disaster declarations613 / 303,045 / 3,143
Flood events since 19960——
Hail and wind events since 19960——
Winter storm events since 1996224 / 303,035 / 3,143
Reported damage since 1996$0——
River crests at major flood stage0——
High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years0.0——
Months in severe drought since 18950——
Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years2.028 / 303,126 / 3,143
Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 19002725 / 30233 / 3,143
Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 19736421 / 30166 / 3,143

Neighbouring counties

Neighbouring counties
Bethel Census Area001,918,76445
Lake and Peninsula Borough00207,0810

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.
  • 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.
  • Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
  • 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.