Where are active fires in the United States?

Check out this interactive map from the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) US/Canada. This visualization platform provides fire incident data, including satellite-based detections from MODIS and VIIRS, active fire perimeters, NowCoast radar, and fire weather. You can download data in KML format (for viewing on Google Earth). To learn more about the number of fires and acres burned in the United States, visit the national statistics page from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). You can compare data from different years. You can also read the daily aggregation of incident reports, which provides a brief national summary of the fires that are burning and news related to these fires, a weather forecast, and daily summary statistics on the number of large and active fires, area burned, and percent contained by state. And check out Western Water Assessment's Intermountain West Current Wildfires and Smoke Forecast Map.

Want to know more about specific fires and what they are doing?

Use the interactive map from the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) US/Canada. By looking at the map of the United States, you can click on fires of interest to get more information about the size and percent contained, often updated more than once a day for significant events. 

Want to know more about the potential for fire in the United States?

Check out NOAA Global System Laboratory's Experimental Hourly Wildfire Potential (HWP) index, which is derived from the NOAA-HRRR model predictions of temperature, winds, and soil moisture conditions. To see a map, look for the “Hourly Wildfire Potential” parameter on the left side of the matrix table and click on one of the available maps from the same row. You can also view the fire weather outlook from NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center.

What does the smoke look like in my state?

Check out the smoke forecast from NOAA-HRRR. This is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s smoke forecast visualization platform, showing global infrared satellite data, as well as surface visibility, vertically integrated smoke, near-surface smoke, and fire detections. Or you can zoom into your area with this global visualization from the Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch of CIRA, the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere. Check out the NOAA-HRRR vertically integrated smoke and near-surface smoke on Pivotal Weather.

Do you want to see both fires and smoke?

Check out Western Water Assessment's Intermountain West Current Wildfires and Smoke Forecast Map. ESRI’s USA Wildfires story map allows you to interactively explore active wildfires and smoke forecasts across the United States. Fire locations and perimeters are updated every 15 minutes from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information (IRWIN) and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Or check out NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System Fire and Smoke Product. This site provides the locations of satellite fire detections and smoke observed from space. These observed smoke estimates are typically drawn in the afternoons. It is important to note that just because smoke is drawn does not mean that it is necessarily reaching the ground. You can also view smoke and fire weather forecasts from the National Weather Service.

Want to see all kinds of aerosols (i.e., minute particles in the atmosphere)?

Check out AerosolWatch, which provides national and global maps of clouds, smoke, dust, aerosol concentrations, and more, updated every 10 minutes using data collected by the GEOS and VIIRS satellites.

Want to know what the wind is doing in your area? Or across the globe?

Windfinder provides current wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, air pressure, and tide forecasts from a global network of over 45,000 locations worldwide. Windfinder also provides an archive of wind data going back to 1999. Or check out EarthWindMap — a global map of supercomputer-forecasted wind strength and direction updated every three hours. This tool includes the option to overlay the concentrations of particulate matter that are harmful to humans (like PM2.5 that can be found in wildfire smoke) as detected by Earth-observing satellites.

How bad is the air near me?

Check out AirNow. This website gives real-time air quality data on particulate matter and ozone, based on your location. It ties your location to the nearest monitoring station around the country. For just exploring particulate air pollution, check out the PurpleAir sensor map or openaq, an open-source air quality data network. You can also view forecasts of U.S. air quality from NCAR’s WRF-CHEM. 
 

What does air pollution look like around the planet?

Visit the World Air Quality Information site. This effort provides real-time air quality at 30,000 stations worldwide, with ratings ranging from good to hazardous. In addition to current air quality, this site also provides air quality information for the past 12 months around a particular station.

What are the air quality issues in the Western United States?

The Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) is a voluntary partnership between states, tribes, federal land managers, local air agencies, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to understand regional air quality issues in the West. WRAP develops, maintains, and shares data and results from various information sources to produce consistent, comparable, and complete results for use by member jurisdictions and agencies.

Individual states often provide their own wildfire, smoke, and air quality information. For example:

• Alaska: Alaska Interagency Coordination Center
• Arizona: Arizona Air Quality Forecasts
• California: Smoke and Current Wildfires resource page
• Colorado: Department of Public Health air quality monitoring sites
• Idaho: Idaho Smoke Information
• Montana: Montana Smoke Forecasts
• New Mexico: Air Quality Bureau wildfire and prescribed fire smoke resources
• Oregon: Lane Air
• Washington: Washington Smoke Information