The B.C. provincial government announced on Tuesday that they have released an app to help people around the province get up-to-date information on wildfires this year, just ahead of wildfire season.
The free app is able to provide real-time wildfire information as well as an interactive map that users can customize to display a variety of fire-related data.
This can include information such as current fire danger ratings, active fires, evacuation alerts and orders, restrictions, and B.C. park and recreation site closures.
The new BC Wildfire Service mobile app is now available for download on Android and Apple devices, and users can customize their view to only display information within a 50-kilometre radius of their current location.
It also features a “Report a Fire” function that generates map co-ordinates of the users current location, and the BC Wildfire Service says they rely on the public to report wildfires and irresponsible behaviour that could start a wildfire.
The federal government has predicted that this year’s wildfire season could be “well above average” across Canada, with higher than normal fire risk beginning in June.
