Track named fire incidents in the US & Canada, fire perimeters in the US & Canada, and satellite-detected hotspots, globally, with our "Active Fires" map overlay.
- Tap the "Maps" tab.
- Tap the overlay button.
- Tap "Active Fires".
- Scrub the bottom slider.
How often is the data updated?
The map is updated every hour with any available new data.
However, keep in mind that individual fire perimeters and hotspots usually do not update every hour, so while this data is a useful way to visualize the fire's behavior, it should not be used for real-time decision-making since fires can spread much more quickly than the perimeters and hotspots are updated.
Animate fire activity during the past 7 days
You can use the animation slider to see how fire perimeters and hotspots have (or have not) expanded during the previous 7 days. As you drag the slider (or hit the play button), the map will animate in six-hour increments.
About Named Fire Incidents
The named fire incidents are shown using grey circles.
When the map is zoomed out, the grey circles are sized based on the total acreage burned so that large fires can be easily identified.
When hovering (desktop) or tapping (mobile) on the fires, you'll see specific data including:
- Location
- Acreage Burned
- % Contained
- Discovered Date
- Fire Cause
- Fire Behavior
- Fuel Sources
About Fire Perimeters
The fire perimeters show the outline of the burned area and are provided by local fire incident response teams in the US & British Columbia.
Also, across all of Canada (including British Columbia), we show estimated fire perimeters, which based on the progression of satellite-detected hotspots and are denoted by a dashed outline on the map.
About Fire Hotspots
Fire "hotspots", shown as colored circles, are detected via satellites and show locations where the satellite estimates that a fire is occurring. Satellites revisit the same area every few hours.
Caution: The hotspots are useful estimates of fire locations, but they do not show real-time information. Also, a fire may be located anywhere in the circle, not necessarily in the middle of the circle.
The color of the fire hotspots are determined by how recently the hotspots were detected, with the color key shown at the bottom of the map.
The size of the hotspot is based on the resolution of the satellite. Higher-resolution satellites produce smaller circles and lower-resolution satellites produce larger circles. Remember that a fire may be located anywhere in the circle.
The Active Fires map overlay is available on OpenSnow.com and in the OpenSnow app by upgrading to All-Access.
The All-Access subscription includes 10-day weather forecasts, high-resolution weather maps, expert local analysis, and much more.