Wildfire — Vermilion, Illinois

2024-10-29 · Vermilion, Illinois

Event narrative

A field fire crossed from Champaign County into Vermilion County just east of Ogden shortly after 3pm CDT. The fire crossed I-74 before eventually being contained in an open field. No structures were impacted: however, I-74 was closed between mile markers 192 and 200 for a little over 2 hours.

Wider weather episode

A field fire developed south-southeast of Ogden in Champaign County shortly before 3pm on October 29th. Thanks to very low fuel moisture, relative humidity values less than 30 percent, and strong southerly winds gusting over 40mph, the fire was able to rapidly expand northeastward into Vermilion County and across I-74. Based on Sentinel-2 satellite data, the fire scar was approximately 2.5 miles in length with a maximum width of about 1 mile. While no structures were directly impacted, I-74 was closed for a little over 2 hours between the St. Joseph exit (mile marker 192) and Fithian exit (mile marker 200).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1218688. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.