Is there a fire near Iowa City right now?
Wildfires near Iowa City, IA
Updated
3 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 61 km ESE, 6 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 Iowa City, Iowa, United States, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (America/Chicago).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 3 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 61 km ESE 21 km W of Rock Island
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 9 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 8 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- SSW 10 km/h gusts 16 km/h, humidity 43%
Fires near Iowa City right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 9 thermal hotspots in 3 separate clusters within 80 km of Iowa City, Iowa, United States in the last 48 h. The closest is 61 km ESE of the city centre (21 km W of Rock Island), with 6 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 8 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.
Across United States there are 573 fire clusters in the same window, 4 of them in Iowa.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 km W of Rock Island | 61 km ESE | 6 | 8 MW | Sat 3:33 am | Sun 2:36 pm |
| 10 km WSW of Rock Island | 74 km ESE | 2 | 1 MW | Sat 3:33 am | Sun 3:13 am |
| 22 km N of Burlington | 80 km SSE | 1 | 3 MW | Sat 2:55 pm | Sat 2:55 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Iowa City is from the SSW at 10 km/h (gusts 16 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the NNE. Relative humidity is 43% and the temperature 25°C.
Iowa City is not directly downwind of the nearest fire at the moment, though winds shift and plumes from larger fires can still reach the city.
Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Iowa City 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.