U.S. Forest Service Maps Current Wildfires

Image source: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/index.php

Right now, Northern California and Idaho are the areas of the U.S. hardest hit by wildfires. How do I know this? Did I hear it on the news? Not exactly. I went to activefiremaps.fs.fed.usand looked at the Active Fire Map. This useful map is run by the USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC). Using satellite technology, this map plots the locations of major fires in the U.S. and Canada.

If you’re like me, you want to know your family members are safe, wherever they may be. Not long ago, my brother-in-law who lives in Utah went mountain climbing in Colorado. The day of his climb we heard news of wildfires in Colorado. Of course, we were all worried about him, but didn’t know the exact location of the fire. Thankfully, the fire was far from his location. If we’d known about the Active Fire Map we would’ve avoided a lot of worry. With so many wildfires in the U.S. the Active Fire Map is a useful tool. Learn about wildfire safety at BePrepared.com.