Fire and Smoke Resources

This content was last updated on 2026 August 9th

Ignore social media. It's critical that hikers check fire and smoke status for themselves using authoritative sources before starting a hike and at least daily while hiking. The best way to stay informed while on trail is to have a support person online who can use the below resources, and knowledge of your location and route, to send instructions to you via satellite text.

Also, carry a new clean dry N95 mask during fire season. The ones with an exhale valve make it easier to breathe and offer the same protection against smoke. I keep mine in the original semi-rigid plastic container so it stays clean, dry, and in shape.

On Trail (text only)

Here "on trail" means you do not have Internet access, you only have access to a texting network such as Iridium (Garmin devices).

Starlink Mobile (aka T-Satellite) became a popular on-trail option in 2026. This service allows a standard 4G/LTE connection with a satellite instead of a terrestrial cell tower. This is not the same as full Starlink connectivity. It's a lower bandwidth service that requires special versions of applications to be compatible. The list of apps offering compatible versions is growing fast.

Right now none of the apps mentioned below have SM versions. So, for now we are still talking about texting while on trail even if you have a SM enabled phone.

76 555 FIRES

For all Garmin devices the easiest way to get fire information relative to your location is by texting 765-553-4737. The response will tell you the AQI, the distance and direction of the nearest fire, and whether its been contained. This is a 3rd party data service from TrailInfo.org.

Note, Be sure your Garmin is sending your GPS coordinates along with the message. It will do this if you have the number as a preset. The Garmin 'Send Reference Point' feature does not work for this.

Text a friend

Many people have friends with Internet access who keep them informed via satellite text messages. That friend can use the resources listed below to assist your hike. Be sure your friend knows about the long delays that sometimes occur with satellite text messaging.

Off Trail (Internet)

Here "off trail" means you have some form of Internet access.

Emergency Closure Notices

The PCT Closures app is offered by the PCTA. They are good about keeping it updated when a federal authority decides closure is needed. There is also a Closures page on the PCTA web site. Notice that the PCTA lists both Closures and Alerts (not closures).

The authority who determines trail and road closures is the US Forest Service or US Park Service. The relevant National Forest or Park will order the closure and the PCTA will pass that information along.

PCTA Interactive Map

The PCTA Interactive Map, built on the ArcGIS (geographic information system) platform, is the best way to view fire data relative to the PCT. The PCTA began adding all the relevant layers in 2022.

1). FIRE

Open pcta.maps.arcgis in your web browser.

On the right side you will see an icon that looks like a stack of papers, click that to open the list of layers you can activate. Open the Fire category and activate the top three layers in the list; IRWIN, MODIS, and VIIRS.

This view will show you where the active fires are in relation to the trail (WatchDuty will not display the trail location. It uses the same data sources cross-validated with NIFC National Interagency Fire Center

In the IRWIN layer you can left-click on a fire to get detailed information about it; detection date, size in acres, and last reported % contained. This data comes from InciWeb an Incident Report Mapper which is maintained by the NWCG (National Wildlife Coordinating Group).

Before 2022 we had to visit each of these sites to get the information.

  • IRWIN Integrated Reporting of Wildland-fire Information
  • MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
  • VIIRS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite.

2). DISTANCE

In the lower right corner of the map you will see an icon that looks like a ruler. You can use this feature to measure the distance between the trail and the fire.

3). SMOKE

Now go back to the layers list, in the Fire category, activate Near Surface Smoke Current - PM2.5 (NOAA HRRR). This will show you the current smoke and air quality along the trail.

WatchDuty

The 2023 hiking season started with a new fire app and website; Watch Duty. This is now a popular source of fire info for people online. It uses the same data sources as the PCTA Interactive Map and adds to that links to the Facebook and X information described lower in this page. If a fire was near my home I would use WatchDuty to track it, but I do not find it especially useful for hiking compared to other sources listed here. If you don't have all the links handy, WatchDuty is a good place to go get them.

WatchDuty does not have a PCT overlay so I much prefer the PCTA ArcGIS map to see where the fire is relative to the trail.

WatchDuty does have a layer for current surface wind direction which is helpful for determining where the smoke and fire are currently traveling. But I prefer Windy com for that.

Windy com

4). CURRENT WIND

In your web browser navigate to Windy com. This is the only tool that offers predictions up to a week into the future. This is an excellent tool for visualizing and predicting surface air movements thus changes in smoke and fire direction.

The default view is current surface wind.

5). FUTURE WIND

Notice the timeline at the bottom of the screen. Use the timeline to go forward in time to see the predicted wind behavior.

6). FUTURE SMOKE

Stay in Windy.com and click More layers... on the right side of your screen. Go to the Air Quality category and select PM2.5. (This means particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers as defined by the US EPA). Or you can select Air Quality Index (an aggregated measure of air quality).

You will find a long list of other layers you can view in Windy.

AirNow

The EPA maintains the AirNow air quality and smoke map. The smoke layer is from a NOAA data feed. It is a great way to see if the smoke from a fire is blowing towards the PCT or away from it. This is only current data, no predictions.

Like WatchDuty, AirNow has a layer showing current surface wind direction.

The Washington State Department of Ecology has a similar map, but really, they should just use AirNow and save the effort.

Purple Air

PurpleAir is a crowdsourced air quality map that I find of limited use for planning hikes because there are almost no sensors near the trail.

FireMappers

Before the PCTA updated its ArcGIS map, and before Watch Duty, FireMappers was the best ArcGIS map for fire information. It is supported by the NAPSG foundation.

Northwest Interagency Fire Coordination Center

The NWCC (Northwest interagency Coordination Center) is a good place to get information about fire management activities in progress.

Fire Control Status

In the Washington Cascades the job of communicating with the public about a fire goes to the related national forest or national park. As stated above, they will first post an alert on their .gov web page (listed above) then they will post additional information on their Facebook page (listed below).

Large fires

When a fire is large enough it will be assigned an Incident Management Team. Then a a new Facebook page and new X account are created which are dedicated to that fire. This is done by the managing agency (the NF or NP). For example, the OkaWen Facebook page has links to the dedicated Three Queens Fire Facebook page.

The Incident Management Team could include people from a long list of groups depending on where the fire is located. This diverse group is coordinated using standards created by the NWCG. An Incident Commander will set objectives and strategy for that team. An Operations Section Chief directs the firefighting actions of that team. Often its the OSC that gives public updates via the Facebook and X accounts, sometimes using YouTube videos.

If you look at fire details in WatchDuty you will see links to all of the above sources of fire status information.