Comparison

Wildfire Info vs Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Wildfire Info

Stay informed about global wildfire and prescribed burn activity. Access real-time data from various sources including satellite imagery, official incident reports, and news feeds. Includes hyper-local weather forecasts for the USA, Canada, and Australia.

Highlights
  • Global wildfire and prescribed burn maps
  • MODIS/VIIRS thermal hotspot data
  • Inciweb & CAL FIRE incident links
  • Hyper-local weather forecasts (USA, Canada, Australia)
  • Wildfire news aggregation
  • Satellite smoke plume animations
  • Map measurement tool
Features
Read full description

Disclaimer: This unofficial app does not represent any government agency and is not affiliated with any government agency. The sources of the data are the publicly accessible sources listed below. Browse current wildfire and prescribed burn activity throughout all of the world. Active Wildfire Perimeter data from NIFC WFIGS. Tagged by state, search by name, and filter by acres burned. WFIGS stands for the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Group. NIFC stands for the National Interagency Fire Center. NIFC WFIGS Source URLs: https://www.nifc.gov/ with data hosted at https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/nifc::wfigs-current-interagency-fire-perimeters/about NASA MODIS and VIIRS satellite instruments data: Thermal hotspot maps by region show wildfire activity in the past 48 hours. See hotspot info including fire radiance power, brightness temperature, and confidence. NASA MODIS/VIIRS Source URL: https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/active_fire/ . MODIS stands for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. VIIRS stands for Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. InciWeb & CAL FIRE active fire maps: hot-link to the corresponding official incident webpage. Inciweb Source URL: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/ , CAL FIRE Source URL: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents CHP (California Highway Patrol): Incidents in the past 3 hours related to fires are filtered out separately, all traffic incidents are included viewable by last 1 or 3 hours.CHP Source URL: https://cad.chp.ca.gov/Traffic.aspx Lookup current hyper-local weather conditions, including temperature, wind and gust conditions, and local forecasts anywhere in the USA, Canada, or Australia using map quick lookup or, for USA, search: Detailed NWS Forecast, Hourly Forecast, Grid Data Forecast, and Summary Forecast. Data is from the NWS, NOAA, Government of Canada, and Government of Australia. NWS/NOAA Source URL: https://forecast.weather.gov/, Government of Canada Weather Source URL: https://weather.gc.ca/, Government of Australia Weather Source URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/ Wildfire Situation Reports section with mirrored PDFs from NIFC. NIFC Source URL: https://www.nifc.gov NESDIS GOES 16/17 Satellite Animations show wildfire smoke plumes, drought conditions, etc. from the satellite's perspective. NESDIS GOES Source URL: https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov. NESDIS stands for National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service. GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite. A Recent Wildfire News section: find news from 1,700+ cited sources quickly on a map or in a table view tagged by state alphabetically. Set up your own custom state feed with the state toggles. Quickly lookup news source homepages near specific fires. Map Measurement Tool added to the Map Tools Side Menu. Measure distance and area. Premium users: View 250m resolution true color images from NASA GIBS (Global Imagery Browse Service). Images are available back to Jan. 1 2007. Worldwide coverage. Premium Users: Lookup a driving route to any fire or hotspot with Google or Apple Maps directions Universal Links. Save your preferred Directions Provider in the App Settings. There is a section for wildfire-related US government Twitter accounts viewable by map by approximate location or sorted into national and state sources in a table view. Twitter Source URLs: https://twitter.com User-Submitted Fire Map feature: map-based wildfire-related chatter. Photos are allowed. Posts and replies are anonymous; no account needed. Information is posted as soon as it becomes available from WFIGS, NIFC, NASA, InciWeb, CAL FIRE, CHP, NESDIS, NOAA, NWS, Government of Canada, and Government of Australia. This app is not affiliated with any government agency. Terms of Use: https://davidgrossapps.com/terms/tos-wildfire-info.html Privacy Policy: https://davidgrossapps.com/privacy-policy.html

About

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

This app provides near real-time wildfire tracking using satellite data from multiple authoritative sources. It offers detailed worldwide and US-specific layers, including fire detections, perimeters, smoke plumes, and air quality. Users can monitor multiple map areas and access detailed incident information.

Highlights
  • Satellite hotspot detections
  • Worldwide and US-specific fire layers
  • Active fire perimeters
  • Smoke plume tracking
  • Air Quality Index monitoring
  • Live fire camera feeds
  • Push notifications for new incidents
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Track wildfire activity in near real-time on a single, layered map, and get fire alerts when satellites detect a new hotspot near the places you watch. Fireguard pulls data from NASA, NOAA, NIFC, NWS, and other authoritative sources so you can see what's burning, where it's headed, and how conditions are changing. WORLDWIDE LAYERS • Satellite hotspot detections from Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 (VIIRS 375 m) and Terra (MODIS 1 km) • Satellite ground-track overlays showing upcoming sensor passes • Low-confidence hotspot filter to reduce false positives UNITED STATES LAYERS • GOES geostationary fire detections • Active fire perimeters and WFIGS interagency boundaries • InciWeb incidents, wildland dispatch reports, and new-start ignitions • ICS-209 large-incident tracking with assigned resources • Satellite-derived emerging fire polygons • Cal Fire California incidents • NOAA smoke plume areas • Red Flag Warnings, Fire Weather Watches, and SPC Day 1 Outlook • Dry thunderstorm risk areas • Air Quality Index (AQI) monitoring stations with PM2.5 and ozone • Live fire camera feeds (ALERTCalifornia) • Real-time traffic conditions INTERNATIONAL LAYERS • Canada active wildfires by province (NRCan CWFIS) • Australia NSW Rural Fire Service major incidents • Europe, Mediterranean, and Middle East fire perimeters (EFFIS) DESIGNED FOR EVERYONE • No account, login, or subscription required • Monitor up to 3 map areas at once — pick a city or use your current location • Tap any marker or polygon for a detailed breakdown with source links • Toggle layers on or off to build the view you need Anyone in or near a fire-prone area — residents, first responders, ranchers, travelers, or people watching out for family — gets a clearer picture of what's happening, faster. Fire alerts follow satellite passes: detections typically arrive 1–4 hours after a fire starts. Fireguard is not an official warning system. Always follow instructions from local authorities.

Screenshots

Wildfire Info4 screens
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Wildfire Info at Free against Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's $9.99. Wildfire Info also leads on review sentiment (39% vs 8%) and ratings volume (31 vs 5). Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Wildfire Info is free to download; Fireguard Wildfire Tracker costs $9.99 up front. Wildfire Info sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per year. Fireguard Wildfire Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wildfire Info has 31 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 39% of Wildfire Info's written reviews are positive against 8% of Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wildfire Info ships an update fortnightly, Fireguard Wildfire Tracker every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Wildfire Info versus Fireguard Wildfire Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWildfire InfoFireguard Wildfire Tracker
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating3.4 (31 ratings)4.6 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews38.9% of reviews — better8.3% of reviews
Number of ratings31 — better5
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#190 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB28 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperDavid GrossQvyshift LLC

Customer experience

Wildfire Info

All ratings31 ratings
Positive54.8%
Neutral6.5%
Negative38.7%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive38.9%
Neutral8.3%
Negative52.8%

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive8.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative83.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Wildfire Info

Subscriptions1
  • Wildfire Info Premium$0.991 Year
None

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Wildfire Info free?
Wildfire Info is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fireguard Wildfire Tracker free?
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Wildfire Info or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker?
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker is rated higher. Wildfire Info averages 3.4 out of 5 from 31 ratings, while Fireguard Wildfire Tracker averages 4.6 from 5 ratings.
Do Wildfire Info or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker have ads?
Neither Wildfire Info nor Fireguard Wildfire Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wildfire Info or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker?
Wildfire Info ships an update fortnightly, and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker every 8 days. Most recently, Wildfire Info was updated on October 14, 2026 and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker on October 13, 2026.

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