Illinois, 1996

Wildfire in Illinois, February 25, 1996

February 25, 1996 · NWS PAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Dry, warm, and windy conditions resulted in a rash of brush and grass fires. The largest fire burned about 600 acres in the Shawnee National Forest near Elizabethtown.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.

Dry, warm, and windy conditions resulted in a rash of brush and grass fires. The largest fire burned about 600 acres in the Shawnee National Forest near Elizabethtown. Most of the fires were less than 100 acres in size.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Hardin

When
February 25, 2:00 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Hardin County, Elizabethtown
Coordinates
37.518, -88.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire
A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, February 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5542876.