Wildfire, Sussex
- When
- May 18, 5:00 PM EST to May 19, 12:30 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex County, Dagsboro
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Delaware, May 18 to 19, 2000
A wildfire exacerbated by gusty south winds circulating around a large high pressure system anchored off the south Atlantic Coast spread through a remote area of Dagsboro Hundred during the evening of the 18th. The blaze occurred near Sussex County Route 74 just to the west of Delaware State Route 20.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
A wildfire exacerbated by gusty south winds circulating around a large high pressure system anchored off the south Atlantic Coast spread through a remote area of Dagsboro Hundred during the evening of the 18th. The blaze occurred near Sussex County Route 74 just to the west of Delaware State Route 20. Flames reached as high as 20 feet. Several firefighters suffered exhaustion, two had to be hospitalized. The fire was extinguished at 130 a.m. EDT on the 19th. About seven acres were burned. The peak wind gust at the New Castle County Airport was 30 mph and sustained winds averaged 20 mph.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Texas, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, May 18 to 19, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 18, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 18, 2000
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 18, 2000
- Rip Current in California, May 18, 2000
- Tornadoes and Flooding in Iowa, May 18, 2000
- Wildfire in Alaska, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Wisconsin, May 18, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flooding in Michigan, May 18 to 20, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 2000
More
Every storm in Delaware in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, May 2000
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5144714.