Illinois, 2020

Wildfire in Illinois, October 14, 2020

October 14, 2020 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Dry and windy conditions created dangerous fire conditions on October 14th. A large wildfire started in a field about 6 miles west of Danforth during the afternoon of October 14th.

Where it happened

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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 LOT wrote it up.

Dry and windy conditions created dangerous fire conditions on October 14th. A large wildfire started in a field about 6 miles west of Danforth during the afternoon of October 14th. The fire quickly spread with strong southerly winds gusting to 50 mph along with relative humidity levels as low as 20 percent. Multiple fire departments responded and it wasn't until farmers arrived to start making fire breaks that the fire was brought under control and eventually put out, over 5 hours after it started. The cause of the fire was not known. No damage to structures was reported though approximately 40 acres of grain was lost. The size of the fire was estimated around 580 acres, using high resolution satellite imagery.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 14, 2:11 PM CST, 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 14, 2:11 PM CST, 29 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 14, 2:46 AM CST, 11 hours 54 minutes before
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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, Iroquois

When
October 14, 2:40 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Iroquois forecast zone
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
40.747, -87.824 (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 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, October 2020

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 921299.