Is there a fire near Des Plaines right now?
Wildfires near Des Plaines, IL
Updated
3 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 52 km SE, 2 detections in the last 24 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 Des Plaines, Illinois, United States, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (America/Chicago).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 3 last 24 h
- Nearest fire
- 52 km SE 7 km NE of Calumet City
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 27 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 24 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 9 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- SSE 8 km/h gusts 10 km/h, humidity 60%
Fires near Des Plaines right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 27 thermal hotspots in 3 separate clusters within 80 km of Des Plaines, Illinois, United States in the last 24 h. The closest is 52 km SE of the city centre (7 km NE of Calumet City), with 2 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 1 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
None of the clusters is within 25 km of the centre, so the city itself is not in the immediate fire area, but smoke can travel hundreds of kilometres.
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.
The largest nearby cluster by detections is 54 km SE (7 km NNW of Gary) with 21 detections; first seen Sun 3 am and last seen Sun 2 pm local time.
Across United States there are 334 fire clusters in the same window, 8 of them in Illinois.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 km NE of Calumet City | 52 km SE | 2 | 1 MW | Sun 3:13 am | Sun 3:13 am |
| 7 km NNW of Gary | 54 km SE | 21 | 5 MW | Sun 3:13 am | Sun 2:36 pm |
| 8 km NNE of Portage | 75 km SE | 4 | 9 MW | Sun 3:13 am | Sun 2:36 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Des Plaines is from the SSE at 8 km/h (gusts 10 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the NNW. Relative humidity is 60% and the temperature 16°C.
Des Plaines is roughly downwind of the nearest fire, so smoke and haze are likely; check the air quality page before spending time outdoors.
Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Des Plaines 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.