Public Lands Wildfire Tracker

How the Wildfire Tracker works

A plain-language guide to where our data comes from, how often it updates, and how we decide whether a place is worth the trip.

What this tool answers

Most fire maps organize around incidents: a list of fires, where they are, how big they are. Useful if you fight fires for a living. Less useful if you are trying to figure out whether your backpacking trip to a specific wilderness is still a good idea.

This tracker flips that around. It centers the roughly 2,600 named public lands in the country, every national park, forest, wilderness, monument, and refuge, and for each one answers a single question: given the fires and smoke right now, is it worth going?

Where the data comes from

Everything on the map is official government data, refreshed on a schedule through fire season.

NIFC / IRWINThe national interagency feed of active wildfire incidents: name, location, acreage, containment, and cause. This is the authoritative record of reported fires. Refreshed multiple times daily.
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS)Satellite heat detections, shown as the Hotspots layer. Catches new and remote fire activity before it is formally reported as an incident. Updated several times a day.
NOAA HMS SmokeThe Hazard Mapping System smoke product: analyst-drawn plumes from satellite imagery, classified light, medium, or heavy. Shown as the gray smoke veils.
EPA AirNowGround-monitor air quality (PM2.5 and AQI) near each place, used to fold real smoke impact into the verdict.
USGS PAD-US 4.0The Protected Areas Database: the official boundaries and names of the public lands the tracker is organized around.

How we set a threat level

For every public lands destination we find the nearest active fire and weigh three things: how close it is, how large it is, and how contained. Distance alone is not enough. A 30-acre spot fire and a 30,000-acre incident are not the same threat at the same distance, so size and containment shift the verdict. The result is one of four levels.

Avoid (critical)A meaningful fire within about 10 miles, or a large fire within 25 miles that is under 40% contained. A visit is genuinely a bad idea.

Check first (high)Fire activity within roughly 10 to 25 miles. Often open, but expect possible closures and smoke. Confirm conditions before you go.

Use caution (moderate)Fire within about 50 miles. Likely open, but smoke and changing conditions are possible.

Monitor (watch)Distant fire activity in the region, within roughly 75 miles. Open, but worth keeping an eye on.

What counts as an active fire

A fire is shown as active only while it is still present in the official NIFC feed. We do not infer that a fire is out from containment alone, because small fires often stop being reported without ever hitting 100% contained. Tying activity to the feed itself keeps the map honest: when an incident drops out, it drops off.

Limits to keep in mind

Feeds lag reality. A fast-moving fire can outrun any update cycle, and a new ignition may not appear until it is reported. Satellite hotspots can flag controlled burns and industrial heat alongside wildfires. Smoke plumes are analyst estimates, not exact air you will breathe on a given trail. Treat this as a strong first read, then confirm with the managing agency before you commit to a trip.

Public Lands Air Quality MapSmoke and air quality for the same parks, forests, and wilderness.

This tool reports official government data for trip planning. It is general information, not a substitute for agency closures, evacuation orders, or emergency guidance. Always check the managing agency and local authorities before you travel. Conditions can change faster than any feed updates.

Last reviewed July 2026

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