Is there a fire near Rockford right now?
Wildfires near Rockford, IL
Updated
3 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 45 km SSW, 5 detections in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 3:13 am local (2026-10-25 08:13 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Rockford, 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 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 45 km SSW 45 km SSW of Rockford
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 7 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 31 MW moderate
Fires near Rockford right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 7 thermal hotspots in 3 separate clusters within 80 km of Rockford, Illinois, United States in the last 48 h. The closest is 45 km SSW of the city centre (45 km SSW of Rockford), with 5 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 31 MW, which is moderate 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 km SSW of Rockford | 45 km SSW | 5 | 31 MW | Sat 2:55 pm | Sat 2:55 pm |
| 69 km SW of Rockford | 69 km SW | 1 | 1 MW | Sun 3:13 am | Sun 3:13 am |
| 73 km ENE of Bettendorf | 74 km SW | 1 | 0 MW | Sun 3:13 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 Rockford 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.