Comparison

Firesource 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

Firesource

Track live wildfires with real-time data on a map and in a feed. Access detailed fire perimeters, news updates, and air quality measurements. Users can also report nearby fires with photos and location data.

Highlights
  • Live fire map and feed
  • Real-time fire perimeters
  • Air quality measurements (AQI)
  • User-reported fire alerts
  • Satellite fire detections
  • News updates and reports
Features
Read full description

Firesource’s features: ◦ Live fire feed - both on map and in scrollable menu ◦ Local and national fire incidents - news updates and reports ◦ Fire perimeters - access all realtime fire perimeters at once with information about fire growth and progress, including acreage, containment, personnel, fire cause, and fire behavior ◦ Report a fire - instantly inform other users of a nearby fire by pressing the + button, taking a picture of the fire, and submitting ◦ Air quality - see the effects of recent fires by viewing realtime air quality measurements across the country ◦ Satellite fire detections can indicate new fires and how current fires are spreading National Fires (InciWeb, Cal Fire, IRWIN): InciWeb is an interagency incident management system run by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. InciWeb collects wildfire incident data from several agencies across the United States and provides all of this data together in several feeds. Firesource presents wildfire incidents reported by InciWeb in real time, providing the fire’s location and detailed status. Learn more about InciWeb at their website: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/. Learn more about Cal Fire, which also provides incident information, at their website: https://www.fire.ca.gov. Learn more about IRWIN, the data hub of fire reports, at https://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/WFIT/applications/IRWIN/. National Fires (Perimeters): Perimeter data is provided by the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Group and hosted in the National Interagency Fire Center ArcGIS Online Organization (The NIFC Org). Firesource displays fire perimeters and descriptions of their progress in the ‘National Fires’ tab of the menu, with this information updated on a regular basis. Learn more about the NIFC at their website: https://www.nifc.gov User-Reported Fires: Allowing app users to report a fire and immediately inform other users is an essential aspect of Firesource. To report a fire, press the yellow + button in the top right corner of the map, select the type of fire (vehicle fire, forest fire, terrain fire, structure fire), take a photo of the fire, and press submit. To ensure the validity of fire reports, the user must take a photo of the fire and cannot access Camera Roll to select a picture. Please note that submitting a fire report automatically creates the report at the user’s location, to further ensure that the fire is local and valid. When viewing user-reported fires in the feed, other users can ‘rate’ the fire report by confirming that it is active, contained, or a spam reporting. Air Quality: Air quality measurements from across the United States are collected from AirNow.gov, which provides national air quality data using the Air Quality Index (AQI). This data is color-coded to provide information about health concerns due to PM2.5 pollutants. Satellite-Detected Fires: Thermal hotspot detections are displayed and collected from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which is an instrument on the Terra and Aqua satellites. Information provided from MODIS about each detection includes brightness (brightness temperature in Kelvin of a fire pixel) and confidence (quality of fire pixel). These fire detections are extremely useful, as they can indicate new fires and fire spread. Learn more about MODIS at their website: https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov Firesource is not affiliated with any government agencies. Firesource is only available for iPhone and iPad in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Privacy Policy: https://firesourceapp.weebly.com/privacy-policy.html Learn more and contact us at https://firesourceapp.weebly.com/

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. 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 • Crowdsourced initial-attack reports (NAPSG) with push notifications • NOAA smoke plume areas • Red Flag Warnings, Fire Weather Watches, and SPC Day 1 Outlook • Dry thunderstorm risk areas • Air Quality Index (AQI) monitor stations — 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.

Screenshots

Firesource4 screens
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Firesource at Free against Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's $9.99. Firesource also leads on review sentiment (39% vs 10%) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 5). Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months) and chart position (#194 vs unranked). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Firesource is free to download; Fireguard Wildfire Tracker costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Firesource against 4.6 for Fireguard Wildfire Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Firesource has 2.5K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 39% of Firesource's written reviews are positive against 10% of Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Firesource ships an update every 2 months, Fireguard Wildfire Tracker every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Firesource versus Fireguard Wildfire Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFiresourceFireguard Wildfire Tracker
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.7 (2.5K ratings) — better4.6 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews38.6% of reviews — better10.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2.5K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#194 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHemal doshiQvyshift LLC

Customer experience

Firesource

All ratings2,536 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral4.4%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive38.6%
Neutral13.6%
Negative47.7%

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive10.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative80.0%

Bugs and requests

Firesource

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Fires not showing up on the map
  • Air quality data not updating
  • App keeps logging users out

Requested features

3 requests
  • Horizontal view for iPad
  • Notifications for nearby fires
  • More detailed fire information (size, direction, containment)

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Firesource

No in-app purchases

None

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Firesource free?
Firesource is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Fireguard Wildfire Tracker free?
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Firesource or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker?
Firesource is rated higher. Firesource averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Fireguard Wildfire Tracker averages 4.6 from 5 ratings.
Do Firesource or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker have ads?
Neither Firesource nor Fireguard Wildfire Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Firesource or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker?
Firesource ships an update every 2 months, and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker every 11 days. Most recently, Firesource was updated on September 23, 2026 and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker on September 22, 2026.

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