Gainesville fires today: fire map, smoke & air quality
Active wildfires within 100 miles of Gainesville, the air quality and wind right now, fire-weather alerts — and how often fires burn near Gainesville.
Air quality and wind in Gainesville
Fire weather alerts for Gainesville
Wildfire history near Gainesville
Wildfires within 50 miles, by year
Fires of 10+ acres whose origin was within 50 miles of Gainesville. 2026 is still in progress.
When fires start near Gainesville
Peak months: March, May, June — 52% of fires in the last 10 years started in these three months.
0 days in the last 12 months had modeled daily PM2.5 above 35.4 µg/m³ — the level where air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups. Smoke can come from fires hundreds of miles away, so smoke days and nearby fires don't always line up.
Fire history: NIFC WFIGS incident records 2016–2026. Smoke: Open-Meteo CAMS air-quality model, 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30. Updated 2026-10-01.
Largest wildfires near Gainesville since 2015
| Fire | Acres | Year | County | From Gainesville |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major | 4,952 | 2023 | Marion, FL | 48 mi |
| Railroad | 4,796 | 2026 | Putnam, FL | 43 mi |
| Red Fox | 3,008 | 2017 | Columbia, FL | 49 mi |
| Cow Creek (38) | 2,364 | 2026 | Levy, FL | 31 mi |
| Crews Rd (10) | 1,700 | 2026 | Clay, FL | 45 mi |
| Perchman | 1,300 | 2019 | Putnam, FL | 38 mi |
Most recent fires near Gainesville
| Fire | Acres | Discovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterhole | 53 | 2026-09-22 | 46 mi |
| Robinson | 12 | 2026-08-06 | 47 mi |
| Hudson 19- Dixie (15) | 125 | 2026-07-27 | 48 mi |
| Sr 20 County Line (18) | 190 | 2026-07-20 | 49 mi |
| Water Hole | 121 | 2026-07-10 | 34 mi |
Distances are straight-line from the city center to the fire's point of origin.
Fires and smoke near other cities
Questions
Is there a fire near Gainesville right now?
The live map at the top of this page shows every active wildfire within 100 miles of Gainesville from official incident reports, sorted by distance, with acres, containment and the last update time.
How often do wildfires burn near Gainesville?
From 2016 to 2025, 155 wildfires of 10 acres or more started within 50 miles of Gainesville — about 16 a year — burning 28,159 acres in total. 52% of them started in March, May and June.
What was the biggest fire near Gainesville?
The Major Fire (2023), 4,952 acres, which started about 48 miles from Gainesville in Marion County.
Is the air quality in Gainesville safe today?
The air-quality panel above shows the current US AQI for Gainesville and a 72-hour forecast. Above 100 (orange), sensitive groups should limit time outdoors; above 150 (red), everyone should. In the last 12 months Gainesville had 0 modeled smoke days.
Get fire alerts for Gainesville
Save Gainesville in Wildfire Tracker: distance to the nearest active fire, which side of it you're on relative to the wind, air quality — alerts only for fires that are actually active.