Is there a fire near Petersburg right now?
Wildfires near Petersburg, VA
Updated
2 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 6 km SW, 1 detection in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sat 2:13 pm local (2026-10-24 18:13 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Petersburg, Virginia, United States, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (America/New_York).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 2 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 6 km SW 6 km SW of Petersburg
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 2 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 3 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- ENE 10 km/h gusts 12 km/h, humidity 52%
Fires near Petersburg right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 2 thermal hotspots in 2 separate clusters within 80 km of Petersburg, Virginia, United States in the last 48 h. The closest is 6 km SW of the city centre (6 km SW of Petersburg), with 1 detection and a peak fire radiative power of 2 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.
Across United States there are 573 fire clusters in the same window, 10 of them in Virginia.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 km SW of Petersburg | 6 km SW | 1 | 2 MW | Sat 2:52 am | Sat 2:52 am |
| 14 km ESE of Petersburg | 14 km ESE | 1 | 3 MW | Sat 2:13 pm | Sat 2:13 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Petersburg is from the ENE at 10 km/h (gusts 12 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the WSW. Relative humidity is 52% and the temperature 20°C.
Petersburg 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 Petersburg 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.