Using Wildfire Watch for United Kingdom

What Wildfire Watch does

Wildfire Watch brings together official incident reports, satellite-detected heat sources, and local weather and wind information to help you check possible wildfire activity near a place you choose.

1. Choose a location

Use Select Location in the top bar. Search for a place or postcode, use your device’s location, or choose a point on the map. Your most recent selection is remembered in this browser.

2. Read the current status

• Clear: No relevant official incident or recent satellite heat source was found within the monitoring area.
• Watch: Relevant evidence was found in the monitoring area but outside the warning area.
• Warning: An active officially confirmed wildfire or potential wildfire intersects the warning area. It does not prove your location is in danger.

3. Check the two areas

The monitoring area is the wider area checked for official reports and satellite heat sources. The warning area is the smaller area used when deciding whether nearby evidence changes the status to Warning. The current defaults are 20 km and 10 km, and you can adjust both above the map.

4. Use the Wildfire Map

Select Wildfire Map in the top bar to jump to the map. Open markers for details, check whether evidence is official or satellite-detected, and use the times and colour keys to understand how recent it is.

5. Compare the other indicators

Fire-weather risk describes whether forecast conditions could help a fire start or worsen. Wind exposure describes whether wind is blowing from nearby evidence towards your chosen location. Each answers a different question, and no single indicator confirms a wildfire.