Where lightning has hit, where fires are burning, and how dry the land is.

Is the data fresh?

Top right: a green dot means up to date (new data every 10 minutes). An amber dot and a banner mean the data is late, so recent lightning may be missing.

Lightning

Each glow is a strike seen by satellite. Color is time since it struck: bright white-blue is the last hour, fading to purple over 3 days. Size is the size of the flash, not the fire risk. New strikes flash as they arrive. Positions are accurate to within a few miles.

Fires

Flame badges are wildfires reported by fire agencies. Tap one for its name, size and containment.

Gold ring, labelled NEW: reported in the last 24 hours. The ones to watch.

Orange ring: still burning; the label shows how much is contained.

Small and grey: 100% contained or declared out.

Bolt on the badge: the fire agency lists it as lightning-caused. Tap it to see a dotted line to the strike that most likely started it: the nearest one seen within 9 miles in the 14 days before it was reported. Two or more days between them means a holdover: it may have smoldered unseen.

Orange outline: the fire's mapped burned area (perimeter), as the agencies last mapped it; grey once contained. Tap inside for its size and when it was mapped.

Small dots: a satellite saw unusual heat. White-hot means seen in the last few hours, fading to dark red over 3 days. Often a fire, sometimes a controlled burn or industry. Fresh heat near recent lightning is worth watching.

If lightning struck today

How readily a strike would catch, from how dry the fuels are: orange would catch easily, green is unlikely to catch. It switches itself on when there has been no lightning for 6 hours, until you switch it yourself under Layers. A guide to dryness, not a fire forecast.

Lightning status

The line under the top bar says what the sky is doing: lightning now, when and where the last strike was, or how many days it has been quiet. If the satellite data is late, it says so instead. Tap it for details and a button that takes you to the storm or the last strike.

Red Flag Warnings (National Weather Service)

Red shading: a Red Flag Warning, critical fire weather happening now or very soon (strong wind with low humidity, or dry lightning). Dashed red outline: a Fire Weather Watch, the same conditions possible in the next day or two. Tap an area for the NWS wording and a link to the full text. When a warning covers part of the region, the status line says so.

Dry thunderstorm outlook (National Weather Service)

Pale, sparse hatching: isolated dry thunderstorms forecast: lightning with little rain, the kind most likely to start fires.

Brighter, dense hatching: scattered dry thunderstorms, more of them.

Choose Today, Tomorrow or Days 3–8 in the panel. It is a forecast, not a warning, and ordinary wet thunderstorms can still bring lightning.

Find, locate, share

Search (magnifier, top right) finds towns, peaks and street addresses. My location (target button) shows where you are and what's near you: lightning within 25 miles today, the nearest active fire, and whether you're in a Red Flag Warning. Your location stays on your device. Share sends a link to the view on screen; with a popup open, the link opens that popup too.

Day and Night

The map follows your phone's light or dark setting. Choose Day or Night under Map style in the panel to keep one. By day, lightning shows in deep blues that fade to lilac as strikes age.

The panel

Choose how far back to show lightning (1 hour to 3 days), switch layers, and check each data source. Tap anything on the map for details. 3D tilts the map to show the terrain.

Not an official warning. Call 911 in an emergency. For evacuations, follow your county and local fire agencies.