Is there a fire near El Cajon right now?
Wildfires near El Cajon, CA
Updated
4 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 19 km WNW, 2 detections in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 2:58 am local (2026-10-25 09:58 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of El Cajon, California, United States, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (America/Los_Angeles).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 4 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 19 km WNW 15 km NW of La Mesa
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 8 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 3 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- WNW 10 km/h gusts 13 km/h, humidity 36%
Fires near El Cajon right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 8 thermal hotspots in 4 separate clusters within 80 km of El Cajon, California, United States in the last 48 h. The closest is 19 km WNW of the city centre (15 km NW of La Mesa), with 2 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 1 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
2 clusters are 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.
The largest nearby cluster by detections is 35 km SSE (21 km E of Tijuana) with 3 detections; first seen Sat 3 am and last seen Sat 3 am local time.
Across United States there are 573 fire clusters in the same window, 44 of them in California.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 km NW of La Mesa | 19 km WNW | 2 | 1 MW | Sat 3:15 am | Sun 2:58 am |
| 8 km ESE of Chula Vista | 22 km SSW | 2 | 1 MW | Sat 3:15 am | Sun 2:58 am |
| 21 km E of Tijuana | 35 km SSE | 3 | 3 MW | Sat 3:15 am | Sat 3:15 am |
| 34 km E of Tijuana | 40 km SE | 1 | 1 MW | Sun 2:58 am | Sun 2:58 am |
Smoke and wind
Wind at El Cajon is from the WNW at 10 km/h (gusts 13 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the ESE. Relative humidity is 36% and the temperature 27°C.
El Cajon 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 El Cajon 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; in this state also check CAL FIRE (fire.ca.gov/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.