Onboarding & Platform Guide

Getting Started with Fire Aware

Everything you need to monitor active British Columbia wildfires, interpret real-time smoke plumes, inspect mountain terrain in 3D, and keep your family or travel routes safe.

Select Your Focus:

1. Detection Map & 3D 2. Smoke & AQI Meter 3. Wildfire Stages 4. Route Corridor 5. Evacuation Alerts Hotkeys

Your Quick-Start Readiness Milestones

0 of 5 Completed (0%)

Locate your community on Live Map

Check local AQI / PM2.5 particulate level

Review active BCWS fire perimeters

Inspect mountain pass route & webcams

Review household Evacuation Checklist

Step 01

Explore the Live Detection Map & 3D Terrain Flight

Real-Time Feed

Fire Aware’s core engine fuses official British Columbia Wildfire Service (BCWS) perimeters, NASA thermal infrared hotspots, and high-density air quality sensors onto a single GPU-accelerated canvas.

Interactive Layer Preview Simulator

BCWS Fire Perimeters

Official British Columbia Wildfire Service incident perimeters polygons, updated hourly with containment stages and estimated area in hectares.

3D Mountain Terrain Flight: Click the 3D Terrain button in the map controls to fly over mountain valleys with true topological elevation. Use Right-Click + Drag (or two-finger drag up on mobile) to adjust camera pitch and bearing.

Launch Live Detection Map Open Weather & Wind Map

Step 02

Understand Smoke, Particulates & Calibrated AQI

Sensor Stream

Wildfire smoke contains hazardous fine particulate matter (PM2.5) capable of penetrating deep into lungs and bloodstreams. Use the interactive scale below to understand health advisories and threshold meanings.

Interactive AQI Scale & Action Simulator (Click any tier)

68 Moderate

Acceptable Air Quality

PM2.5: 12.1 – 35.4 µg/m³

Unusually sensitive individuals should consider reducing prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion if smoke plumes are visible.

24h Sensor History:

Click any station pin on the map to inspect full 24-hour diurnal particulate curves.

Community Data Export:

Download uncalibrated raw CSV telemetry files directly for environmental modeling.

Step 03

Decode Official BC Wildfire Stages of Control

BCWS Incident Standards

Every active fire displayed on Fire Aware is synchronized with the BC Wildfire Service operational incident database. Familiarize yourself with the 4 critical classifications:

Out of Control (OC)

A wildfire that is spreading or has not responded to suppression. Fire perimeter is not secured and active fire front behavior is erratic.

Being Held (BH)

With current weather forecasts and committed firefighting resources, the wildfire is projected to remain within determined boundaries.

Under Control (UC)

The fire has received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further perimeter growth. Fire crews are actively conducting mop-up operations.

Out

The wildfire has been completely extinguished with zero detectable heat or smoke detected by thermal imaging scanners.

Lightning vs Person-Caused: Clicking any fire incident card displays the suspected cause, total personnel dispatched, water bombers on site, and estimated hectares burned.

Step 04

Plan Travel Safely with Highway Route Buffers

Mountain Corridors

Driving through British Columbia mountain corridors (Coquihalla Hwy 5, Trans-Canada Hwy 1, Crowsnest Hwy 3) requires vigilance. The Highway Route Planner continuously computes wildfire proximity buffers.

Live DriveBC Webcams

Over 900 highway cameras along your calculated path, updated every 2 minutes for visibility checks.

25km Hazard Buffer

Automated geometric search identifying any fire perimeter within 25 kilometres of your highway centerline.

Pass Summit Forecasts

Surface winds, thunderstorm probabilities, and smoke density forecasts for high mountain passes.

Test the Highway Route Planner

Step 05

Evacuation Alerts & Household Emergency Action Protocol

Life Safety Protocol

Fire Aware checks evacuation geometry in your browser, but location-based features can also send coordinates to Fire Aware, external data providers or map services. See the Privacy Policy for details. When an alert occurs, follow this protocol:

Evacuation Alert (Be Ready)

Pack your Grab-and-Go Bag: 72 hours of essential medication, government identification, passports, cash, and chargers.
Vehicle readiness: Keep the gas tank at least half full and park facing outward in your driveway.
Pet preparations: Prepare pet crates, leash, 3 days of pet food, and vaccination documents.
Family communication: Designate an out-of-area emergency contact person.

Evacuation Order (Leave NOW)

You MUST leave immediately: Follow designated provincial evacuation routes only.
Secure your home: Shut all windows and doors. Turn off air conditioners and propane tanks.
Emergency Reception Centre: Check in at the municipal reception center so family members know you are safe.
Do not return: Wait until municipal and BCWS officials formally declare an "Order Rescinded".

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Interactive Keyboard Shortcuts & Touch Gestures

Power User Controls

Test pressing these keys on your physical keyboard right now to see the interactive sandbox respond!