Wildfire, Smoke & Air Quality
Wildfire Hotspots Dashboard Card Explained
The wildfire hotspots card summarizes recent satellite fire detections and related fire-context signals visible on the live dashboard.
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Use this page to understand Wildfire card. Use the live dashboard to see current alerts, infrastructure stress, weather, wildfire, travel, public-health, supply-chain, and stability indicators in one place.
Quick answer / What to check next
Quick answer
The wildfire hotspots card summarizes recent satellite fire detections and related fire-context signals visible on the live dashboard.
What this signal means
Hotspot counts can help users notice where fire activity may be present, but detections are not evacuation maps, incident perimeters, or proof of conditions at a specific address.
What to check on HazardNow
Total hotspots, source freshness, unavailable-source labels, top affected areas, smoke or AQI overlap, and whether official local fire agencies have issued instructions.
Verify with official source
NASA FIRMS
Quick read
- Useful for
- Hotspot counts can help users notice where fire activity may be present, but detections are not evacuation maps, incident perimeters, or proof of conditions at a specific address.
- Watch
- Total hotspots, source freshness, unavailable-source labels, top affected areas, smoke or AQI overlap, and whether official local fire agencies have issued instructions.
- Confirm with
- NASA FIRMS and National Interagency Fire Center
- Remember
- Satellite detections can miss fires under clouds or smoke, include false positives, and lag fast-moving conditions.
What the card summarizes
The Wildfire Hotspots card condenses recent satellite fire detections and available fire context into a quick dashboard signal. It is designed to answer whether public fire-detection activity deserves attention, not whether a specific location is safe.
Read the card with nearby AQI, smoke, weather, power, and transportation signals. Fire impacts can be indirect: smoke can travel far, power shutoffs may occur away from flame fronts, and road access can change quickly.
Visible metrics in plain English
- Total hotspots: the count of recent public satellite detections included in the dashboard scope.
- Status or unavailable labels: whether HazardNow has a recent enough source reading to summarize confidently.
- Top areas or context lines: broad place names or source notes for triage, not official incident boundaries.
- Source freshness: a reminder that satellite passes and HazardNow display updates do not update continuously.
Limitations and official verification
- A hotspot is a detection, not an official incident perimeter or evacuation notice.
- Cloud cover, smoke, terrain, satellite timing, and source outages can affect what appears.
- Verify evacuation orders, shelters, road closures, and smoke-health guidance through local emergency management, fire agencies, air districts, and NWS offices.
Visual reference
Wildfire card signal map
Read the signal as one layer in a larger source stack, not as a standalone instruction.
Official sources to verify
Use these links to verify current source text, update timing, and agency caveats.
Last reviewed: . This page explains general preparedness information and does not replace official instructions.
FAQ
Does the wildfire card show official evacuation zones?
No. It summarizes public detection/context signals. Evacuation zones and instructions must be verified with official local or state agencies.
Related terms
Check the live HazardNow dashboard
Use this page to understand Wildfire card. Use the live dashboard to see current alerts, infrastructure stress, weather, wildfire, travel, public-health, supply-chain, and stability indicators in one place. Focus on wildfire, wildfire-smoke, air-quality-index in the live view.