(in UTC )

 

Above is a fresh image from the fastest but least accurate satellite heat detection system, called GOES-17. Compare the timestamp on the map to the current time: this image should be less than six minutes old. You can reposition the map and zoom in and out. Hot spots are detected where you see colored rectangles. Each rectangle is roughly 2 Km x 2 Km (1.25 x 1.25 mi). This does not reliably show you boundaries for a given fire, but it tells you there's probably fire or smoke somewhere inside that area. The color of the rectangle indicates how old the report is:
                                       

MODIS and VIIRS are different satellites that are more accurate, with a visual resolution of .6 miles and .22 miles, respectively. Inside that range, they cannot further differentiate where heat/smoke are. These satellites only pass overhead once or twice per day.

Hot spots appear as asterisks. Here again, colors indicate the age of the hot spot report: 
                                     

You can zoom in to see more information like the time of the flyover and the measured ground temperature associated with each hotspot. 

Access both of these maps directly at https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=38.18207,-122.64862&z=8&b=om

Known Fire Starts

Click here to see known fire starts, as identified by GIS professionals from emergency agencies and social media. 

Lightning Strikes

 

911 Calls

911 fire calls could indicate a problem before satellites can see it. Below are the active fire and medical 911 calls in Sonoma County. Note you can also see these calls displayed in "map view."

 

 

You can click https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/ctid/231 to listen to 911 dispatch. Don't trust everything you hear: first reports are often inaccurate.

Live Cameras

You can check live cameras on many North Bay mountaintops to look for fires. Click http://beta.alertwildfire.org/northbay/?camera=Axis-BarnhamNorth to go to that site.

Evacuations

The county of Sonoma lists the current evacuation orders and evacuation warnings here. You can zoom in to see more detail.

 

 

Sometimes the map lags the actual orders by a few minutes. County of Sonoma emergency announcements may show up here first: Tweets by CountyofSonoma

 

To access County of Sonoma emergency pages directly: https://socoemergency.org/

Wind

Wind, particularly at higher elevations, can be a powerful force in fire growth. Here are the current wind conditions and forecast. (Scroll right for subsequent days.)

 

 

 

 

 

An interactive wind forecasting tool is here: https://www.windy.com/?38.452,-122.652,11

The National Weather Service is responsible for issuing Red Flag fire warnings or fire weather watches. Any current watches or warnings will be listed here:

 

Smoke

Here's a live map of air pollution due to smoke. Green numbers are normal. Anything else is unusual. You can  zoom in to your exact location.

 

 

To access this page directly: https://www.purpleair.com/map?opt=1/m/i/mAQI/a10/cC4#9.72/38.3779/-122.6859
There's also a national weather service experimental smoke forecast page here: https://hwp-viz.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/smoke/index.html

PG&E

When fire weather is expected, PG&E may cut power. During a wildfire, many customers will usually lose power. If a "public safety power shutdown" is planned, you'll see an alert message below. (You can dismiss it by clicking "continue.") On the map, you can then select current or future outages.

 

 

To access this page directly: https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outages/map/

KRCB 104.9, our Public Radio Station

We're Sonoma County's NPR station and we report on all major local emergencies. Please tune to 104.9 FM for the latest. Or, you can click here to listen to a live stream, or follow our reporting on www.krcb.org. Or, follow us on twitter:

 

 

We've done our best to curate the most useful online tools for identifying fires and staying abreast of their progress. If you discover new ones you'd like us to include, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. KRCB 104.9 features NPR + Sonoma County news during morning and evening commute time, with local DJs playing music and talking about community events most of the rest of the time. We'll break in with news as needed. Tune in! (and thanks). Please visit www.krcb.org/join to learn more or help support Sonoma County's public radio station.