Is there a fire near Chicago right now?
Wildfires near Chicago, IL
Updated
6 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 24 km SE, 56 detections in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 2:36 pm local (2026-10-25 19:36 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Chicago, Illinois, United States, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (America/Chicago).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 6 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 24 km SE 8 km NW of Gary
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 77 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 9 MW low-intensity
Fires near Chicago right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 77 thermal hotspots in 6 separate clusters within 80 km of Chicago, Illinois, United States in the last 48 h. The closest is 24 km SE of the city centre (8 km NW of Gary), with 56 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 8 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
1 cluster is within 25 km, close enough that smoke, ash or road closures may affect the city. Distances are measured from the city centre to the nearest detection, not to the fire's edge.
Every nearby cluster is low intensity (peak under 10 MW), which is typical of agricultural or garden burning, industrial heat sources such as steel works or flares, or small fires rather than a spreading wildfire.
Across United States there are 577 fire clusters in the same window, 13 of them in Illinois.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 km NW of Gary | 24 km SE | 56 | 8 MW | Sat 1:52 am | Sun 2:36 pm |
| 3 km E of Romeoville | 40 km SW | 1 | 1 MW | Sat 3:33 am | Sat 3:33 am |
| 5 km W of Hobart | 45 km SE | 1 | 1 MW | Sat 3:33 am | Sat 3:33 am |
| 7 km NNE of Portage | 48 km ESE | 15 | 9 MW | Sat 1:52 am | Sun 2:36 pm |
| 15 km SW of Joliet | 66 km SW | 1 | 1 MW | Sat 3:33 am | Sat 3:33 am |
| 41 km SSW of Chicago Heights | 76 km SSW | 3 | 2 MW | Sat 3:33 am | Sun 3:13 am |
Smoke and wind
Current wind data was unavailable for this page; smoke generally drifts with the wind, so check local conditions.
Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Chicago air quality page has the live reading.
Evacuations and official information
GodsView shows satellite detections only. It does not know fire perimeters, containment or evacuation zones. Always follow evacuation orders from local authorities.
InciWeb (inciweb.wildfire.gov) lists federal wildfire incidents. Evacuation orders come from county sheriffs and emergency management, often via Genasys Protect (protect.genasys.com) or local alert apps.
About satellite fire detections
Satellite thermal hotspots are not all wildfires: gas flares, steel works, volcanoes and planned agricultural or prescribed burns show up too. VIIRS passes over most places about twice a day, so a fire can start or grow between passes, and thick smoke or cloud can hide one.
Fire radiative power (FRP) is the heat a fire gives off, in megawatts per pixel: under 10 MW is usually a small or smouldering fire, over 100 MW an intense flaming front.
Wildfires near other cities
More for this area
Data: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS active fires), Open-Meteo, GeoNames.