Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why don’t I see (insert fire name) on the map?
This map only shows the last 24 hours of fires in California. If the fire lasts for more than 24 hours, it will be automatically removed from the map. The purpose of this map is not to track active fires, but to see how/when they are started.
2. Where does this data come from?
All the information on the map comes directly from the California Highway Patrol.
3. What do these abbreviations mean?
The CHP often does not have enough time to write a detailed report (which explains why there are sometimes spelling mistakes), so they use abbreviations. A list of their most common abbreviations is available here.
4. Why don’t you use satellites?
Many people have suggested using satellites instead of the CHP, but satellites are not as accurate at detecting fires as humans. Satellites may falsely identify a fire or miss a smaller fire. While I’m sure satellites will be amazing for this in a few years, currently, the CHP is a more reliable option. If you would like to check out more about satellites and wildfires, check out PG&E’s amazing page here.
5. How is this different from the official Cal Fire map?
This map is different from Cal Fire’s map for two reasons: the size of the fires and the update frequency. Cal Fire focuses on major fires, while this map reports every fire regardless of size. Also, Cal Fire’s map is not updated automatically like this map and is therefore not “realtime.”
6. What else have you created?
At the moment, I have 4 Twitter bots that are all relaying California wildfire data. The first is CalFireBot, which tweets California fires in real time based on CHP reports. There are also San Diego Fire Bot and Bay Area Fire Bot, and they provide more localized fire information. The 4th bot, Cal Fire Digest, shows interesting information about California wildfires in the form of daily graphs, heatmaps, and reports so that you can see the latest trends.