Built for the people who live with fire.
Okanogan Highlands Firewatch is a community wildfire situational awareness tool for north-central Washington — Okanogan, Chelan, Ferry, Stevens, Kittitas, and neighboring counties, plus a statewide Washington view and the BC border region. It aggregates more live fire data sources in one screen than any other service — dispatch, aircraft, satellites, scanners, lightning, smoke, air quality, roads, and evacuations — all free, ad-free, and community-run.
Live Fire Intelligence
Live Dispatch Feed
Real-time WildCAD-E incidents from 8 WA dispatch centers — flame icons, smoke checks, prescribed burns, county-filtered.
Tactical Dark Map
High-contrast map with pulse markers, official fire perimeters, evacuation zones, and county outlines — with an address/town search on every map.
Satellite Hotspots + Growth Estimates
NASA VIIRS infrared detections, plus automatic growth estimates when fresh hotspots extend beyond the mapped perimeter.
Spread Direction & Progression
Satellite time-cohort analysis shows which way a fire is moving — compass arrow on the map, miles per day, and hotspots that fade with age.
Official Acreage & Containment
NIFC records, GIS perimeter acres, WA DNR stats, and 7-day growth sparklines merged onto every incident.
Evacuations & Alerts
Evacuation Zones + Road Closures
Level 1 / 2 / 3 zones from county Emergency Management, drawn live on the map — with the road closures inside each zone (WSDOT + County EM) one tap away.
Is Your Place in the Line of Fire?
Drop a pin at your address on any fire page — see the distance, direction, and whether satellite spread is pointing your way.
Saved Locations with Radius Alarms
Pin your home, cabin, or trailhead and get push alerts when fire activity gets close.
Follow Fires + Smart Push
Followed fires get pinned with live distance from your location, plus push updates, Large Airtanker proximity, Rapid Fire Growth (2x in 24 hrs), and daily 8 AM briefing + 8 PM recap.
Morning Briefings
NWCC Morning Brief (PNW preparedness levels, IMT rotation, team assignments) and the NIFC national briefing, parsed daily.
Aircraft & Field Resources
Live Aircraft Tracking
Firefighting tankers, helicopters, and lead planes via ADS-B — with photos, callsigns, and flight trails. Free.
Wildfire Cameras
Public Pano AI / WA DNR wildfire camera network, viewable inline.
Live Scanner Audio
Broadcastify dispatch radio feeds embedded for fire traffic listening.
Roads, Air & Weather
WSDOT Road Alerts
Real-time highway closures and event status for your county.
Mountain Pass Conditions
Live road condition and restriction data for relevant passes.
Incident Fire Weather
Live NWS wind speed & direction, temperature, humidity, and a 6-hour wind outlook on every fire page — wind drives fire.
Live Wind & Rain Radar Layers
Toggle live wind arrows from NWS stations and animated NEXRAD rain radar right on the map — watch weather move across the fire ground.
Lightning, AQI, Smoke & NWS Alerts
Blitzortung strike map, AirNow AQI monitors, NOAA smoke forecast polygons, Red Flag Warnings, and burn bans by county.
Coverage & Community
Multi-Region Views
County dashboards, a Washington statewide view, and a BC Border (Canada) view with BC Wildfire Service fires and evacuations.
Geotagged Field Photos
Verified reporters attach photos to field updates — geotagged shots drop as pins on the map so you can see exactly what's happening where.
Verified Reporters
Trained locals post gold-shield field updates straight from the ground. Apply from your profile.
Community Info Pins
Staff drop map pins for shelters, donation drives, and community posts — with links and auto-expiry so the map stays clean.
Share My Status Check-ins
Generate a daily check-in card for your saved location — nearest fire, distance, and a QR code — ready to post so friends and family know you're okay.
Important Notice
This is a community tool. Always follow official evacuation orders from your county Emergency Management, Sheriff's Office, and DNR. For life-threatening emergencies, call 911. Data is sourced from public APIs and may lag real-world conditions.
Data Sources
- • WildCAD-E Dispatch Centers (WACWC, WANEC, WACAC, WAPCC, WANDC, WASPC, WAOLC, WAPSC)
- • NIFC / WFIGS incident records & interagency fire perimeters
- • NASA FIRMS VIIRS active fire detections
- • NWCC Morning Brief & NIFC National Fire News
- • National Weather Service Active Alerts API (api.weather.gov)
- • WSDOT Traveler Information API (HighwayAlerts + MountainPassConditions)
- • WA DNR / Pano AI Wildfire Watch (wadnr.wildfirewatch.com)
- • BC Wildfire Service & EmergencyInfoBC (Canada)
- • ADS-B aircraft data (airplanes.live / adsb.lol) + Planespotters photos
- • AirNow AQI · NOAA smoke forecast · Blitzortung lightning · Broadcastify audio
- • Map tiles: CARTO Dark Matter / OpenStreetMap contributors
Coverage
Currently optimized for 12 WA counties along the fire-prone east slope of the Cascades and northern reaches of the state — plus statewide and cross-border views:
Okanogan · Chelan · Kittitas · Douglas · Ferry · Stevens · Pend Oreille · Spokane · Yakima · Klickitat · Whatcom · Skagit · Washington Statewide · BC Border (Canada)
Support Firewatch
Firewatch is community-funded and run by volunteers — no ads, no paywalls, free for everyone. Every dollar goes to servers and data feeds that keep this dashboard live through fire season.
Donate