Persistent heat source near Gary
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 6 minutes ago, and this point is not in it. We record detections, not passes: an absence is not proof that nothing is there.
4 other detections within 20 km in the last 24 hours, the nearest 3 km from here.
The satellite has seen heat at this spot on 61 earlier days since 9 May 2026, in 6 of the twelve months of the year. Heat that is there in every season usually comes from industry (a steelworks, a refinery flare, a gas field) or from routine burning, not from a wildfire. NASA's data do not say which.
72 satellite detections of this fire · 18 – 27 October 2026
A satellite sees a burning fire on each of its passes. This page gathers every detection of this fire; the address of each one leads here.
| Day and time (UTC) | Radiative power | Distance from Gary |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 19:18 | 170 MW | 7 km |
| 27 Oct 08:37 | 165 MW | 7 km |
| 27 Oct 07:55 | 146 MW | 7 km |
| 27 Oct 06:58 | 137 MW | 6 km |
| 26 Oct 08:58 | 224 MW | 7 km |
| 26 Oct 08:58 | 120 MW | 7 km |
| 26 Oct 08:57 | 98 MW | 8 km |
| 26 Oct 08:14 | 197 MW | 7 km |
| 26 Oct 08:13 | 126 MW | 7 km |
| 26 Oct 07:17 | 129 MW | 8 km |
| 25 Oct 19:56 | 111 MW | 8 km |
| 25 Oct 19:56 | 313 MW | 7 km |
| 25 Oct 19:56 | 320 MW | 7 km |
| 25 Oct 19:55 | 104 MW | 8 km |
| 25 Oct 18:59 | 306 MW | 6 km |
| 25 Oct 08:33 | 298 MW | 6 km |
| 25 Oct 08:33 | 315 MW | 7 km |
| 25 Oct 07:36 | 265 MW | 6 km |
| 25 Oct 06:52 | 229 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 19:18 | 516 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 19:17 | 486 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 19:17 | 210 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 19:17 | 71 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 08:52 | 521 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 08:52 | 450 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 08:51 | 444 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 08:51 | 440 MW | 6 km |
| 24 Oct 07:55 | 370 MW | 7 km |
| 24 Oct 07:11 | 312 MW | 7 km |
| 23 Oct 19:38 | 574 MW | 6 km |
and 42 earlier detections
This page covers the record dated 18 October 2026. Browse recent observations in this area:
Recorded by satellite 9 days ago.
A thermal anomaly is a snapshot of one satellite pass, not a record of a fire’s life: we cannot say whether it kept burning after that pass.
It is the 38th strongest of the 220 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 10 February 2024. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day. 71 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 80 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 238 MW, at nominal confidence, 8 km from Gary.
The 80 pixels cover about 11.2 km² — that is the footprint of the detection grid at 375 m resolution, not an estimate of how much land burned.
FIRMS does not report burned area, and neither do we.
Urban PEI: 1,442,358 within a heuristic 50 km radius; not unique people.
Nearby, since 10 February 2024
- June 3, 2026 · 0.4 km
- September 12, 2026 · 0.4 km
- May 22, 2026 · 0.6 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 57 out of 100.
This is our versioned heuristic index, not source severity or a calibrated probability. Urban PEI does not count unique people.
Computed under scoring rules v5. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Series begins 8 March 2026 for live collection; the monthly chart also counts backfilled detections from 10 February 2024. Collection gap: 14-26 August 2026.
This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.
Event data
| Type | Persistent heat source |
| Severity | Medium |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 57 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.74/1 |
| Coordinates | 41.6436, -87.2852 |
| Nearest city | Gary (8 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 1.4M within 50 km |
| Impact tier | significant |
| Timestamp | 2026-10-18T08:07:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@-87.285,41.644,9z |
| Licence | US public domain (NASA) · NASA FIRMS (LANCE) |
Physical priority index · v5. Heuristic priority, not calibrated probability, predictive accuracy or damage. The legacy data-support index combines assigned source support and field availability. Urban PEI is distance-weighted and does not count unique people; zero does not establish that nobody is present. Model cards.
Source and revision timeline
Source: firms. Occurrence: 2026-10-18T08:07:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-08-11T09:17:58.722Z. Material modification: 2026-10-27T19:29:08.253Z.
Retained revisions are prospective; earlier versions may be unavailable. No revision entry does not prove that a record never changed.
Score breakdown
Technical details
| Brightness | 351.7 |
| Frp | 238.01 |
| PixelCount | 80 |
| Confidence | nominal |
Safety information
Heat shows up at this spot regularly, which usually means an industrial plant or routine burning rather than a wildfire. Nothing on this page is an alert. In a real emergency, follow local authorities.
Review the area, threshold and delivery channel in your account.
In the news nearby
A list of links found by GDELT for this place and this hazard in the last seven days. External, not ours: we have not read them and do not vouch for them.
No news is listed: GDELT was not available when this page was rendered.
GDELT Project · gdeltproject.org