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Low

wildfire Wildfire Risk in Chicago, IL

Risk Level: Low — Score 1/10

FEMA: 1Historical: 8

Live Wildfire alert status near Chicago

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Live wildfire map around Chicago

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Key Risk Factors

  • 15 events recorded in proximity in recent decades
  • Active in the 12 months to Aug 9, 2026 (15 events)

Peak season: June-November

Last significant event: Wildfire - Lake Michigan, Indiana, United States (2026-07-13) — 5,930 people exposed

Highest Risk Cities for Wildfires

1
Los Angeles, CA
FEMA: 9Historical: 10
2
San Diego, CA
FEMA: 9Historical: 9
3
Long Beach, CA
FEMA: 9Historical: 10
4
Tokyo, Japan
Risk: 9Historical: 1
5
Manila, Philippines
Risk: 9Historical: 5
6
Mexico City, Mexico
Risk: 9Historical: 0
7
Istanbul, Turkey
Risk: 9Historical: 5
8
Mumbai, India
Risk: 9Historical: 10
9
Shanghai, China
Risk: 9Historical: 0
10
Bangkok, Thailand
Risk: 9Historical: 0
Chicago is not in the top 10 for wildfire risk among tracked cities.

How Chicago Compares

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Notable Wildfire Events Near Chicago

DisasterAWARE's historical archive records 5 notable wildfire events near Chicago, ranked below by impact. The most impactful: Wildfire - Lake Michigan area, Indiana, United States (April 2026) — 5,930 people exposed; $885M capital exposed.

Wildfire - Lake Michigan area, Indiana, United States

April 16, 2026 — WARNING

5,930 people exposed; $885M capital exposed

Wildfire - Lake Michigan, Indiana, United States

July 13, 2026 — ADVISORY

5,930 people exposed; $847M capital exposed

Wildfire Lake Michigan, Indiana, United States

June 23, 2026 — WARNING

5,920 people exposed; $847M capital exposed

Wildfire - Lake Michigan area, Indiana, United States

May 13, 2026 — WARNING

6 people exposed; $119M capital exposed

Wildfire - Lake Michigan, Indiana, United States

June 28, 2026 — WARNING

4 people exposed; $107M capital exposed

Wildfire Preparedness Tips

  • 1.Create defensible space around your home — clear brush within 30 feet
  • 2.Use fire-resistant building materials for roofing and siding
  • 3.Keep an evacuation go-bag packed and ready
  • 4.Sign up for local emergency alerts and evacuation notifications
  • 5.Know at least two evacuation routes from your area

Related Pages

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Score: 7/10
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Landslide Risk in Chicago
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Extreme Heat Risk in Chicago
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Drought Risk in Chicago
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High Wind Risk in Chicago
Score: 9/10
tsunami
Tsunami Risk in Chicago
Score: 0/10
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Wildfire Risk in Milwaukee, WI
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Wildfire Risk in Louisville, KY
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How this data is built

Chicago, IL wildfire risk combines Historical Event Intelligence with authoritative hazard modeling from the Geospatial Intelligence Layers catalog. Live wildfire monitoring is available through the Event Intelligence API and the DisasterAWARE Platform.

The data behind this page

Every score and event here comes from DisasterAWARE's hazard database — available as downloadable historical datasets and a real-time API.

Historical wildfire event data for Chicago, IL — free dataset samples →Real-time wildfire alerts by API →

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