Mobile Apps¶

Mobile applications for wildland fire monitoring, weather tracking, navigation, safety, and field data collection.

Fire Monitoring & Alerts¶

Watch Duty - Community-powered wildfire alerts with scanner audio, push notifications, and real-time updates. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

CAL FIRE - Official California fire incident information and alerts. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

FIRMS Mobile - NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System with near real-time satellite fire detections. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

InciWeb Mobile - Access incident information via mobile browser for all-risk incidents across US agencies.

Sentinel Hub - Access Sentinel satellite imagery via mobile-friendly web interface.

Weather & Conditions¶

Weather Underground - Hyperlocal weather with personal weather station data and detailed forecasts. 🆓 Free with ads, iOS & Android.

Windy - Interactive wind maps with weather models, fire smoke layer, and aviation forecasts. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

:simple-noaa: NOAA Weather - Official National Weather Service forecasts, warnings, and fire weather. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

Tempest Weather - Weather station network with real-time hyperlocal data. Requires Tempest hardware. 🆓 Free app, iOS & Android.

Weather.com - The Weather Channel app with hourly forecasts and radar. 🆓 Free with ads, iOS & Android.

Avenza Maps - Offline map viewer with GPS positioning, supports geotagged PDFs and standard map formats. 🆓 Free with in-app purchases, iOS & Android.

Gaia GPS - Topographic maps with offline capability, route recording, and waypoint management. 💰 Subscription required, iOS & Android.

CalTopo - Web and mobile access to detailed topographic maps, terrain analysis, and custom map creation. 🆓 Free with premium features, iOS & Android.

onX Hunt - Offline maps with land ownership layers, useful for backcountry navigation. 💰 Subscription required, iOS & Android.

Cairn - Safety tracking app for outdoor activities with automated alerts if you don't check in. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

Field Data Collection¶

Fulcrum - Mobile data collection with custom forms, photo capture, and offline sync. 💰 Paid plans, iOS & Android.

Survey123 - ArcGIS-integrated survey tool for field data collection with offline support. 💰 Requires ArcGIS license, iOS & Android.

Collector for ArcGIS - Now part of ArcGIS Field Maps, mobile GIS data collection and editing. 💰 Requires ArcGIS license, iOS & Android.

iNaturalist - Citizen science app for recording biodiversity observations with AI species identification. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

Measure Map - Measure distances, areas, and elevations on maps. 🆓 Free with premium features, iOS & Android.

Communication¶

:material-walkie-talkie: onX Backcountry - Offline maps with communication features for remote teams. 💰 Subscription required, iOS & Android.

Zello PTT - Push-to-talk walkie-talkie app using cellular or WiFi, popular in emergency response. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

FireChat - Mesh networking chat app that works without internet using Bluetooth/WiFi. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

Garmin Explore - Companion app for Garmin inReach satellite communicators. 🆓 Free app (requires hardware), iOS & Android.

Forest & Vegetation Apps¶

PlantNet - Plant identification using image recognition, useful for fuel type assessment. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

Seek by iNaturalist - AI-powered species identification for plants and animals. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

TreeSnap - Citizen science app for documenting tree health and locations. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

Fire Calculators & Reference¶

Fire Behavior Calculator - Field calculations for fire behavior. 🆓 Free, Android.

NWCG Glossary - Searchable wildland fire terminology via mobile browser.

Fire Season Tracker - National fire danger ratings and wildfire activity statistics via mobile browser.

Photo & Documentation¶

Timestamp Camera - Add GPS coordinates, date, and time stamps to photos for field documentation. 🆓 Free with ads, iOS & Android.

Mapillary - Crowdsourced street-level imagery with automatic GPS tagging. 🆓 Free, iOS & Android.

ExifTool - View and edit photo metadata including GPS location. Available via mobile browser or third-party apps.

Tips for Field Use¶

Offline Functionality

Many apps offer offline map downloads. Pre-download map tiles before heading to areas with limited connectivity. Test offline functionality before field deployment.

Battery Conservation

GPS usage drains batteries quickly. Carry external battery packs, enable airplane mode when not actively navigating, and reduce screen brightness to extend battery life in the field.

Data Security

Check agency policies for mobile device usage and data storage. Use device encryption, secure passwords, and avoid storing sensitive information on personal devices unless authorized.