Illinois wildfires
No wildfire in Illinois is listed as current by the interagency incident system. 44 wildfires have been reported in Illinois in 2026, burning 824 acres. No Red Flag Warning is in force.
- Current fires
- 0
- Acres, current fires
- 0
- Fires in 2026
- 44
- Acres in 2026
- 824
Radar
Reflectivity now over Illinois. Open it to see fires and the fire weather outlook on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS and NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
Active fires
None right now. The largest fires of the year so far are below.
Alerts in force
Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches from the National Weather Service. A Red Flag Warning means warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong wind are expected or occurring together, so a fire that starts will spread quickly. A Fire Weather Watch means those conditions are possible in the next day or two.
None are in force in Illinois right now.
Fire weather outlook
The Storm Prediction Center’s outlook for where wind and low humidity (elevated, critical, extremely critical) or lightning with little rain (dry thunderstorms) favor fires starting and spreading. Towns inside each area are listed, largest first.
Today valid Sep 20, 7:00 AM CDT to Sep 21, 7:00 AM CDT
No part of Illinois is in an elevated, critical or dry thunderstorm area.
Tomorrow valid Sep 21, 7:00 AM CDT to Sep 22, 7:00 AM CDT
No part of Illinois is in an elevated, critical or dry thunderstorm area.
Prescribed fires in progress11
Planned burns by land managers, reported to the same system.
| Fire | County | Acres | Contained | Discovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Shale BN RX | Williamson | 469 | Mar 22, 2026 | |
| Propeller Point RX | Williamson | 367 | Mar 20, 2026 | |
| IDNR - Siloam Springs RX | Brown | 350 | Mar 30, 2026 | |
| Greenbriar CDEF RX | Williamson | 265 | Feb 22, 2026 | |
| Green Briar C and F RX | Williamson | 260 | Mar 23, 2026 | |
| Prison C & D RX | Williamson | 168 | Mar 18, 2026 | |
| DK West DE RX | Williamson | 157 | Feb 20, 2026 | |
| Water Tower B C D E RX | Williamson | 148 | Mar 18, 2026 | |
| Area 3 RX | Williamson | 142 | Mar 23, 2026 | |
| Lift Station A & B RX | Williamson | 126 | Mar 13, 2026 | |
| Broken Handle A RX | Williamson | 112 | Mar 20, 2026 |
Largest fires in Illinois in 20261
Wildfires and complexes of 100 acres or more reported this year that are no longer listed as current.
| Fire | County | Acres | Contained | Discovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green River State FWA Fire | Lee | 517 | 0% | Feb 27, 2026 |
By year
2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
Sources
Fires from the National Interagency Fire Center’s WFIGS incident records, updated as incident teams report. Fire weather outlook from NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches from the National Weather Service.