Catron County

Every large fire

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

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.

Claims by ZIP code

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

River crests

River gauges

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.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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.

Volcanoes within 100 miles

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by USGS Conterminous (202), AZ GS (10).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 9, 2012Wildfire, Southwest Mountains$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Whitewater/Baldy Complex has burned approximately 20 structures by the end of May. Damages estimated this month are for these structures only, though the fire will continue to burn well into June.

2. Jun 1, 2012Wildfire, Southwest Mountains$2.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Whitewater/Baldy fire consumed nearly 300,000 acres by the end of June.

3. Sep 14, 2013Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Portions of Bursum Road to the community of Mogollon was completely destroyed by flash flooding. All homes and business along the creek in Mogollon were flooded and damaged, many severely. Several vehicles were carried away, destroyed, and left in the bottom of the creek bed. The USFS delivered MREs, water, and sanitary supplies to Mogollon by foot and with 2 mules. An 83-year old Arizona man was found dead 8 miles downstream from where his vehicle was located and destroyed in Mineral Creek.

4. Sep 14, 2013Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   State EOC Situation Report #10 detailed catastrophic flooding in the Glenwood area. Whitewater Creek topped the US 180 bridge at Pleasanton. The San Francisco River at Glenwood rose to its 2nd highest crest ever observed at 29,900 cfs (18.7 feet) at 2am then fell sharply around sunrise. A flash flood emergency was posted for Glenwood. A levee at Circle Drive in Glenwood was breached flooding 16 residences with about 3 feet of water. A large metal barn was moved into the river bed.

5. Sep 14, 2013Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Catwalk area northeast of Glenwood was completely destroyed. Whitewater Creek at the Catwalk measured a peak flow of 16,100 cfs (19.07 feet) at 1115pm on the 14th which was 5 to 6 times higher than any other flow ever observed. The suspended portion of the Catwalk area within the canyon was washed out. A 30 feet section of a concrete girder bridge was destroyed. The campground was completely covered in silt with minor damage. Trails within the park were destroyed.

6. Aug 28, 1998Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy damage was reported at the Catron County Fairgrounds following torrential rain of 2.5 inches in about an hour. Early warnings from the National Weather Service allowed county officials to evacuate 6 homes well ahead of the water and debris flow. Unusual for western New Mexico, this severe storm also produced large hail.

7. Jul 23, 2021Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain resulted in significant flash flooding near Apache Creek. The fast moving flood waters rushed through at least one home and overtopped an earthen dam. A metal tank was swept downstream, and a truck in the Apache Creek was submerged in the water. Damages are estimated.

8. May 1, 2011Wildfire, Southwest Mountains$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This human caused wildfire, named the Miller Fire, began at the end of April and continued well into June, burning within the steep and rugged terrain of the Gila Wilderness. Four, generally unused, trailers burned near the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center in May, but fortunately, all of the historic cabins were saved. 13 minor injuries occurred with the fire fighting efforts, which are also believed to have occurred in May. In total, 88,835 acres burned, though less than half of this area was within Catron County.

9. Jul 22, 2021Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Catron County emergency manager reported that heavy rain in Old Horse Springs resulted in flash flooding across the area. A local resident measured 3.5 inches of rain in just 45 minutes. This resulted in multiple barns and homes in the area flooded as well as the local fire department. The emergency manager also reported that several county roads had been washed away. Damages are estimated.

10. Sep 14, 2013Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    State EOC Situation Report #9 detailed that the San Francisco River breached its banks and levees at Reserve, Elm, and Glenwood. Power outages occurred in the community of Wild Horse. 18 hunters were evacuated and another 18 hunters were stranded near the San Francisco River. An elk fence was washed away and nearby fields flooded at Alma.

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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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.
• Volcanoes USGS Volcano Hazards Program, U.S. volcanoes and 2018 threat assessment.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.