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Wildfires in Iowa
Detected · VIIRS 375 m · Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 · last 24 hours · updated 2026-10-12 06:20 UTC
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Fire history, 2012–2025
Detected · VIIRS S-NPP 375 m · 0.01° cells (~1.1 km) · complete years 2012–2025 · built 2026-09-23
Between 2012 and 2025, VIIRS detected fire in 21,780 km² of Iowa at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 1,950 km², ranking 21st of 51 regions of United States.
Year by year
Detected area per year, km². Area of 0.01° cells with at least one detection in the year.
The busiest year was 2025, with 2,630 km² detected; the quietest was 2019, with 1,470 km². The 2021–2025 average is 41% higher than the 2012–2016 average.
Through the year
Share of all fire-days 2012–2025 by month. A fire-day is one cell with a detection on one day.
March, April and May together hold 57% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 3 April 2021, with detections in 346 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 21,780 km² with at least one detection, 4.6% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 17,990 | 83% |
| 2 years | 2,780 | 13% |
| 3 to 5 years | 929 | 4.3% |
| 6 to 10 years | 64 | 0.3% |
| 11 years or more | 11 | 0.1% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at 41.25, -90.75 and holds 17% of the region's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1,880 | 2,739 |
| 2013 | 1,540 | 2,306 |
| 2014 | 1,490 | 2,132 |
| 2015 | 1,980 | 2,683 |
| 2016 | 1,510 | 2,257 |
| 2017 | 1,670 | 2,589 |
| 2018 | 1,580 | 2,302 |
| 2019 | 1,470 | 2,099 |
| 2020 | 2,360 | 3,273 |
| 2021 | 2,270 | 3,122 |
| 2022 | 2,040 | 2,717 |
| 2023 | 2,390 | 3,322 |
| 2024 | 2,490 | 3,436 |
| 2025 | 2,630 | 3,569 |
Other regions of United States
- Texas13,010 km² in an average year
- Georgia10,210 km² in an average year
- California9,720 km² in an average year
- Florida8,510 km² in an average year
- Kansas6,780 km² in an average year
- Oklahoma6,770 km² in an average year
- How these figures are madeDetected area, cells, and the single-satellite record.
Detected area counts every 0.01° cell with at least one VIIRS detection, so a small fire counts as a whole cell and a fire missed by cloud or between passes is absent. Borders: Natural Earth 1:10m. 2012 begins on 20 January.