# BC Wildfire Service — Official BC Wildfire Info

> Official wildfire information and reporting for British Columbia. (iPhone/iPad app by Government of British Columbia.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bc-wildfire-service/id1477675008 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Government of British Columbia](https://appshunter.io/developer/487323275)
- Category: Utilities, Reference
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.00/5 from 7 App Store ratings · 70 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 77 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2020-04-18
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bc-wildfire-service/id1477675008/reviews.md

## What is BC Wildfire Service?

The BC Wildfire Service App provides up-to-date wildfire information on your mobile phone, helping you stay informed about wildfires and wildfire-related events and conditions across British Columbia.

Features Include

Interactive Wildfire Map
- Wildfire perimeters when available
- Burn prohibitions
- Smoke forecasts
- Weather conditions
- Evacuation information when available
- Road conditions, and more.

Wildfire Dashboard
- Updates from BC Wildfire Service
- Incident statistics
- Daily situation report during peak fire season

Saved Locations and Saved Incident information
- Evacuation orders and alerts
- Burn prohibitions
- New wildfires
- Weather
- Fire prohibitions
- Customizable notifications

Report a Fire
- In-app incident reporting
- Offline report of fire

## Key features

- Interactive wildfire map
- Burn prohibitions
- Smoke forecasts
- Customizable notifications
- In-app incident reporting
- Evacuation information

## What do users think of BC Wildfire Service?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 Lots of information
- 👍 Thorough and accurate information
- 👍 Great app, new features
- 👍 App works great
- 👍 Well done, good evolution
- 👍 Great app, helpful for communities
- 👍 Getting better, improved displays
- 👍 Informative, easy to navigate
- 👍 2024 version is way better
- 👍 2024 Updates: Great, user-friendly
- 👍 New Refresh is great, useful map
- 👍 New update is incredible, quicker
- 👍 Love the app, easy to navigate
- 👍 Much improved, accessible information

**Cons**

- 🐛 Map not working, unusable
- 🐛 Map issues, grey screen
- 🐛 Unreliable, layers not loading
- 🐛 Cluttered map, not easy to use
- 🐛 Buggy hell, glitches
- 🐛 New app sucks, useless
- 🐛 Terrible, find new developer
- 🐛 Horrible, do better
- 🐛 Not updated adequately, inaccurate
- 🐛 Unusable at times, can't see fire size
- 🐛 No notification of new wildfire
- 🐛 Glitchy map, can't click fires
- 🐛 Old and outdated information
- 🐛 Still bugs me to update app
- 🐛 Latest version glitchy, freezes
- 🐛 UI sucks, map resets
- 🐛 App broken, can't click fire
- 🐛 Slow status updates
- 🐛 Bad fake app, won't update location
- 🐛 Still needs work, slow to load
- 🐛 Update ruined the app, laggy
- 🐛 Terrible, unable to set region
- 🐛 What a waste, can't save location
- 🐛 New app sucks, old app better
- 🐛 Poorly made app, website better
- 🐛 Bad execution, half-assed
- 🐛 Can't filter by fire centre
- 🐛 Fire titles unclear, hard to use
- 🐛 Doesn't work, map doesn't show
- 🐛 New version has issues, not user friendly
- 🐛 Horrible update, slow details
- 🐛 Not very good, runs terribly
- 🐛 Latest update glitchy, no details
- 🐛 Useless app, nothing loads
- 🐛 Clunky and slow, emergency planning difficult
- 🐛 Virtually Useless
- 🐛 Lagging and glitchy, quicker to google
- 🐛 App sucks, won't open properly
- 🐛 Dangerous app, not updated
- 🐛 Non functional app, endless waiting
- 🐛 Glitchy, bad UI, missing updates
- 🐛 App sucks, hardly updated
- 🐛 Unuser friendly, no list of regions
- 🐛 Nearly Useless
- 🐛 Notifications spamming, system settings needed
- 🐛 Bad update, needs iPhone support

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Saved location alerts for old one
- Map dots all over, zoom broken
- Current location broken
- Map not available in satellite mode
- Layers do not load
- White screen, nothing else
- Smoke forecast cannot be removed
- Dashboard switches between app and browser
- App glitches randomly
- Map makes terrain larger, print smaller
- Clicking 'more details' does nothing
- Cannot see fire size
- No notification of new wildfire
- Cannot click on fires for details
- Fires from last year still present
- Relays old and outdated information
- Still bugs to update app
- Saved location freezes, doesn't update
- Alerts for fires not close to radius
- App resets map when going back
- Cannot click on a fire for details
- Slow updating status of active fires
- Cannot set for region, unable to get updates
- Cannot save location or fires
- Map not updating properly
- Filter wildfire list by fire centre not working
- Side legend on map will not close
- Location pin too big
- Map zooms all the way out after viewing details
- Add location for notifications doesn't work
- Contact form doesn't work
- Whole thing is laggy and glitchy
- Map doesn't show up
- Cannot submit feedback
- New version has many issues
- App runs terribly on iOS
- No longer provides detail when clicking fires
- Only provides weather stations
- Nothing loads
- Map does not work
- Redirects to non-functional app
- Does not show all major roads
- App won't open properly
- Half of the screen goes blank
- Fires near me stalls and says error
- App hasn't updated information
- Endless waiting for info
- Could not sign up for notifications
- Tweets took minutes to appear, two years old
- Maps are awkward and mislabeled
- Missing information for updates
- Latest version doesn't respect in-app notification settings
- Spamming with news and alerts
- Still says there is a new version update

**Most requested features**

- More detailed terrain features
- Version optimized for low network scenarios
- Add more photos to Media tab
- Return ability to select perimeter for notifications
- Bring back desktop version for community planning
- Name fires by area
- Reinstate browser version
- Add more dysfunction and corruption
- Add more fighters, helicopters, machines
- Make app optional, not in place of website

## Recent user reviews (10 of 70)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bc-wildfire-service/id1477675008/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Saved location

*2026-05-08*

I’ve changed my saved location but I still get alerts for the old one even though I deleted it. Reinstalling the app doesn’t help either.

### 1/5 — Map not working

*2026-05-04*

1 star of 5. Opening the map shows dots all over the place. Zoom doesn't work. Current location is broken. Completely unusable!!! Still no location based alert setup.

### 5/5 — Thorough and accurate

*2025-09-04*

Our son is a wildland firefighter with BCWS and this is one way we have of finding out about each fire situation he is in, as well as understanding the full measure of the resources that are needed for every fire. We are grateful for this app and the information shared through it!

### 2/5 — BC Wildfire

*2025-09-01*

Just installed August 31, 2025 and the map when zooming in makes terrain larger and print smaller? When in satellite mode zooming in results in grey screen and says map not available? The app gives a general area of fire but not very detailed. Including more detailed terrain features with names that can be made larger when zooming in would be more useful.

### 1/5 — Unreliable

*2025-07-15*

I find this app very unreliable. Often layers do not load. I have to close and re-open hoping things will update. 

This morning I’m getting a white screen and nothing else. A critical app that I feel unable to rely on.

### 5/5 — I use this all fire season!

*2025-03-27*

Great app. There are always new features. Personally, I love that not only can I see where the fires are around me (when planning activities) but also any evacuation alerts and orders AND fire ban levels. Thanks BCWS!

### 5/5 — Lots of Information

*2024-08-21, version v2.3.8*

I use this app regularly and find the details on each fire super helpful. The map always loads a little slow at first, but seems to function well after the first few seconds.

### 5/5 — Works great!

*2024-08-20*

Lots of information and appreciate the notifications.

### 5/5 — Well done!

*2024-08-15, version 2.3.0*

I rely heavily on this app and the information resources it provides.

This year, my usage involved situations where I was staying in areas under Active Evacuation Alerts.

I particularly appreciated the feature that allows me to record my places of interest for push notifications.

I also tried the "Save an Incident" feature and found it very useful.

One suggestion I have is to consider developing a version of the app optimized for low network scenarios. I often found that when I had only one bar of signal (which was common), the app's overhead made it difficult to refresh information.

While this may be a challenging requirement, it presents an opportunity for improvement.

Overall, well done! The ongoing evolution of the app and its services is a testament to quality public service. Thank you!

### 2/5 — Cluttered Map is not easy to use

*2024-08-10*

iPad version. Once you tap on smoke forecast you can’t get rid of it. You have to tap Out Fires for it to go away. These tabs are in the way when you need to zoom out to read cities. It was much better before. And what’s with the Dashboard being within the app sometimes but other times it goes to a web browser? To say this is being used for safety reasons and doesn’t work is an absolute disgrace! I have to keep googling fires to see if one is near me. It’s high time you fixed it because we are in are worst part of fire season right now.

## Frequently asked questions about BC Wildfire Service

### What information does the BC Wildfire Service App provide?

The app offers up-to-date wildfire information, including an interactive map with wildfire perimeters, burn prohibitions, smoke forecasts, weather conditions, and evacuation information when available. It also provides updates from the BC Wildfire Service, incident statistics, and daily situation reports during peak fire season.

### How can I get notified about wildfires near me?

You can save specific locations and incident information within the app. This allows you to receive customizable notifications for evacuation orders and alerts, burn prohibitions, new wildfires, weather changes, and fire prohibitions relevant to your saved areas.

### Is the BC Wildfire Service App free to use?

Yes, the BC Wildfire Service App is completely free to download and use. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements within the application.

### Can I report a wildfire using the app?

Yes, the app features an in-app incident reporting function. You can also report a fire offline, ensuring you can submit critical information even without an internet connection.

### What kind of weather information is available?

The app includes weather conditions relevant to wildfires, such as current temperatures, wind speeds, and precipitation. It also provides smoke forecasts, helping users understand potential air quality impacts from nearby fires.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### v2.5.2 — 2026-04-23

This update restores weather station data, resolves broken links, and includes general fixes for improved stability.

### V2.5.0 — 2026-03-14

This release focuses on stability and backend enhancements to ensure a more reliable experience.

### V2.4.1 — 2025-05-28

Release 2.4.1 emphasizes that the best sources for information on evacuations and local fire bans are the responsible municipalities, First Nations, or local authorities. This update also includes several bug fixes and overall performance enhancements. Ensure you re-add your saved locations if you are a returning user.

### V2.4.0 — 2025-02-19

This release introduces a sharing feature, a news highlights reel, and overall enhancements to usability.

### v2.3.8 — 2024-08-18

Version 2.3.8 addresses performance issues and input issues when using the map screen.

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## More apps by Government of British Columbia

- [BC Moose Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bc-moose-tracker/id1043737265)
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All apps by Government of British Columbia: https://appshunter.io/developer/487323275

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-24.*