Built for a clearer national picture

A clearer, near-real-time view of wildfires across Canada

FireRadar brings the latest available wildfire information into one easy-to-use map, while keeping official incidents, national fallback records, satellite detections, and smoke forecasts clearly separated.

Canada-wide coverage in one place

FireRadar brings provincial, territorial, national, satellite, and smoke information into one map so you do not have to search through many separate government viewers.

Direct official status first

FireRadar uses direct provincial or territorial feeds as the primary source for active-fire status, size, cause, and update information.

Fast wildfire updates

FireRadar refreshes wildfire data throughout the day and displays the latest valid records available from each source. Timing still depends on how often the responsible agency publishes new information.

How FireRadar decides what to show

The closest official source is the source of truth

Canadian wildfire information is published by many different agencies. FireRadar prioritizes the direct agency responsible for each province or territory. A broader national dataset can still be useful, but it is not allowed to silently replace a newer local status.

Primary view

Direct official fires

The default map prioritizes current records published directly by provincial and territorial wildfire agencies. These records drive FireRadar's main active-fire counts and province summaries.

Optional national context

CWFIS national records

CWFIS is kept as a separate, clearly labelled layer. It can provide useful Canada-wide context, but it may lag a provincial source or retain an older status. FireRadar does not let it override a fresher direct provincial or territorial record.

Satellite observation

NASA FIRMS hotspots

Satellite hotspots show recent thermal detections. They can help reveal possible fire activity, but they are not confirmed wildfire incidents and are never added to official fire totals.

Official model forecast

ECCC FireWork smoke

The smoke layer displays Environment and Climate Change Canada's FireWork forecast for the selected hour. It is model guidance, not a live air-quality reading or a wildfire incident layer.

How data stays current

FireRadar checks its connected sources on a recurring schedule, validates the returned records, and updates existing incidents using their stable source identifiers. Source timestamps are shown where they are available so users can see when an agency last updated a record.

What happens when a feed fails

A failed, incomplete, or suspiciously empty request does not wipe the map. FireRadar preserves the last complete valid snapshot and keeps different sources isolated so one upstream problem cannot corrupt every jurisdiction.

No invented values

Missing size, cause, date, or status fields remain unavailable. FireRadar does not turn missing data into zero, guess an incident status, or combine nearby markers simply because they may represent the same event.

What “near-real-time” means

FireRadar publishes new information soon after it becomes available through a connected source. It cannot update before the responsible agency publishes a change, and some agencies update more frequently than others. For urgent local decisions, always confirm with the responsible authority.

Accurate does not mean infallible

FireRadar is designed to present the latest valid source information accurately and transparently, but upstream records can be delayed, incomplete, corrected later, or temporarily unavailable. FireRadar is not an emergency authority, evacuation service, fire-spread prediction system, perimeter guarantee, or substitute for official provincial, territorial, Indigenous, municipal, health, environment, and emergency guidance.