Details about US wildfires mapped and placed in context

A new Esri Storymap provides a quick snapshot of the raging fires across the United States and provides context to the severity of the California fires.

The interactive map can be explored by panning and zooming. Click on a fire and information about that particular fire is displayed including the start date, containment and links to the latest news and social information.

About the tech and data. Esri Story Maps let users combine authoritative maps with text, images and multimedia content. It harnesses the power of maps and geography to tell a story in an easy and understandable format.

The Story Map uses the ArcGIS Javascript API and is linked to interactive timelines and magnitude displays. The cartography uses AGOL Firefly symbology — radial gradients — and a dark basemap.

The fires and perimeters are a service of the GeoMAC community that uses the Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination, an internet-based mapping application that is designed for fire managers to access online maps of current fire locations and perimeters in the United States.

Members of GeoMAC include:

• ·         U.S. Geological Survey
• ·         National Interagency Fire Center
• ·         National Weather Service
• ·         Bureau of Land Management
• ·         Remote Sensing Application Center
• ·         National Geophysical Data Center.

The data is updated manually based on information from a host of sources including those on the ground. Typically, the data is fresh to about 24 hours, but there is variability because it is a carefully curated process.

Deeper dive information. Esri has updated the app based on feedback from many different groups including firefighting professionals, those directly affected by fires, and those concerned about loved ones affected by fires. Some of the updates include the addition of the National Weather Service (NWS) animated smoke risk forecast, visualized to more directly represent smoke.