How to watch current wildfires and how to forecast fire danger
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In the context of the current wildfires in California, we would like to remind you how you can monitor the current fires and the fire danger forecast at Windy.com and in the app.
By working closely with CzechGlobe, Windy is able to issue a model to predict both the start and spread of a fire. The model works with several variables that are consulted and, above all, used with fire brigades, as well as emergency services around the world. The Fire Danger layer is free for anyone to use, with no payment or registration required.
How to show the Fire Danger forecast and current fires
The layer Fire Danger is divided into 2 other layers - fire spread and fuel moisture. Fire spread shows what the next risk of fire spread is on a 6-step scale from Very low to Extreme danger. On the other hand, the fuel moisture layer indicates how conducive the water content in the biomass is to fire ignition.
Current wildfires from NASA FIRMS
Thanks to the earth observation and data from NASA, we are able to show you the current data as well. Each point on the map shows appx. 300 m2, and also shows the radiation power per m2, plus a satellite image of the current place on the map. The data from NASA FIRMS are updated once a day.
Feel free to ask
If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment section or share your thoughts with other Windy users. And most importantly, stay safe.
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Thanks for breaking these tools down. I wasn’t aware there were useful articles like these available in Windy. But I am aware now, of how to utilize the Fire Danger Forecast tools more clearly. Having the article link pop up was perfect, since it was the reason for using Windy tonight.
Seems like highlighting practical tips like this for current events (no pun intended) could be a solid move for keeping users engaged. Nice work @David-Polášek
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Greetings, from Cork in Ireland.
I too have recently discovered the bush fire layer and now check it daily.
It's fascinating.Some observations;
1 If you look at Northern Ireland today 13th July, 1330 hrs GMT, you see about 40 fires burning.
These are deliberately lit bonfires to celebrate a local festival 11th & 12 July.
Some are 40 metres high stacks of timber.
By now, I think most should be well consumed or extinguished, yet all are shown still burning ?
Why would this be so ?-
I note some bushfire markers are actually Solar farms.
We have 3 nearby and I actually drove to one to check it was not actually on fire.
The sun reflection off the solar panels appears to give a false positive for fire.3 Industrial factories like steelworks, cement, etc, also give a false positive for fire.
All good, thanks
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