New Updates for Wildfire Aware

You might have already used the Esri Wildfire Aware app to track wildfires in the United States. What’s subtle about the app is the way that it allows people with no GIS knowledge or experience to use the power of GIS and understand the scope of wildfires anywhere in the US (except territories) in near real-time.

It is the first fire app of its kind, one which uses 22 authoritative demographic and natural resources layers from Esri’s Living Atlas of the World to contextualize wildfires as they happen.  

Since then, developers have been hard at work enhancing the map. First, we released the layer that the app uses to summarize information about people and the environment, allowing people to access the enriched information for their own custom maps and apps.

Second, a measurement tool was added. This gives people precise distance information between the latest wildfire perimeter and points of interest in a few clicks. 

Third, the demographic data has been updated with the most current information available in the Living Atlas, the 2023 demographics! This demographic data is produced by Esri in combination with the latest US Census Bureau American Community Survey from December 2022. 

Finally, the colours of the widget were improved for better web accessibility and these were made available at all scales.

Esri wishes you a very uneventful wildfire season. Should anything happen, the Wildfire Aware App will keep you current.  Please reach out to us with comments or questions.