Wildfire Aware® vs Pocket RAWS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Wildfire Aware®
This app offers an interactive map to monitor wildfires with real-time satellite detection and incident data. It provides environmental overlays and near-real-time notifications for areas you care about, including fire weather information.
- Interactive wildfire map
- Satellite detection layers
- Detailed incident information
- Environmental overlays
- Near-real-time notifications
- Fire weather information
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Wildfire Aware® provides an interactive map-centric experience free to the public. It serves as a central hub for authoritative information, consolidating multiple data streams into a single interface for easier monitoring. *Satellite Detection Layers: Real-time visualization of thermal hotspots from NASA VIIRS, MODIS, and NOAA HMS Fire Detections. *Detailed Incident Information: View updated perimeters from FIRIS (California only) and other state/federal agencies as they become available. *Environmental Overlays: Review National Weather Service (NWS) watches and warnings directly on the map alongside active fire data. As a Premium feature of Wildfire Aware®, we provide near-real-time notifications of wildfires in areas you care about. When a fire is dispatched by a NIFC participating agency anywhere in the United States, you are notified as quickly as possible. We provide wildfire alerts quickly and supplement them with the most current Fire Weather information, including Temperature, Wind Speed and Direction, and Relative Humidity at the time of the fire. As fires burn for days or months, Wildfire Aware not only provides you with notifications about perimeter updates but also provides authoritative supplemental agency data as well. Letting you know where the fire is. We source information from NIFC, IRWIN, InciWeb, CAL FIRE, US Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Department on Interior (DOI), and Texas A&M Forest Service, to name a few. Anyone who has lived through a fire knows that Fire Weather is just as important as fire information. Wildfire Aware provides you with National Weather Service (NWS) Alerts related to Wildfires as soon as they are issued. From Fire Weather Watches and Red Flag Warnings before a fire, to Flash Flood Warnings and Watches after a fire, we keep you wildfire aware at all stages of a wildfire. Wildfire alerting for Canada is now available for Canada! We provided as much of the equivalency information as possible for Canadian Wildfires as well. The reported active fire locations are updated daily as provided by fire management agencies (provinces, territories and Parks Canada). The wildfires data is managed through a national Data Integration Project (DIP) coordinated by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) and Natural Resources Canada with participation from all partner agencies. Environment and Climate Change Canada issues public weather alerts about weather-related hazards in order to notify those in affected areas so that they can take steps to protect themselves and their property from harm. Alerts are classified depending on the severity and timing of the subject event and include warnings, watches, advisories and statements. We do not provide detailed information from radio traffic like Watch Duty, but instead, we provide information from authoritative sources as soon as it is published. We also provide links, whenever possible, to the appropriate social media platforms for additional authoritative data. We strive to give the most reliable information to the public as quickly as possible. Our founder not only survived a deadly and destructive fire in 2020 but also spent 13 years with CAL FIRE as a dispatcher and GIS specialist. Wildfire Aware® provides authoritative and vetted information, which is essential during any wildfire. When misinformation runs rampant during and after a wildfire, we strive to give you the most authoritative information available. Important Wildfire Aware® is an information aggregation platform. All data—including fire locations, perimeters, and weather conditions—is sourced from third-party public agencies. This information is provided "as is" for situational awareness only. Wildfire Aware® does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of notifications and should not be relied upon as a primary life-safety tool. Users should always follow the instructions of local emergency management and law enforcement.
Pocket RAWS
Access near real-time weather data from Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) across California. Monitor fire danger ratings, fuel conditions, and set custom weather alerts for your favorite stations. Essential for firefighters and those in fire-prone areas.
- View California RAWS weather stations
- Favorite up to five stations
- Fire danger ratings and fuel discussions
- Custom weather thresholds (Pro subscription)
- Access CAL FIRE Aviation Guide
- No sign-in required
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Stay informed with near real-time weather data from Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) across California. More states coming soon! Whether you're a wildland firefighter, a fire professional, or someone living in the wildland-urban interface, Pocket RAWS keeps crucial fire weather data at your fingertips. Features: • View RAWS weather stations in California (expanding to more states in future updates). • Favorite up to five stations for quick access. • Fire danger ratings for PSAs, including fuel discussions and indices. • Set custom weather thresholds for favorited stations with a Pro RAWS subscription: Relative Humidity (RH) Wind Speed Fuel Moisture Soil Moisture and Temp more.... • Access the CAL FIRE Aviation Guide. • No sign-in required – start using the app immediately. • Built by a firefighter for firefighters and anyone monitoring fire weather. Pro RAWS Subscription Unlock premium features with a Pro RAWS subscription: Annual subscription: $9.99 per year Free 1-month trial for new subscribers Subscription includes: Customizable notifications for all favorited stations Subscription Details: Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged $9.99 for renewal within 24 hours before the renewal date. Manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.pocketraws.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pocket RAWS at 5.0 against Wildfire Aware®'s 4.5. Pocket RAWS also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Wildfire Aware®'s advantage is ratings volume (24 vs 3) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Wildfire Aware® sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Pocket RAWS sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pocket RAWS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wildfire Aware® has 24 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Wildfire Aware® ships an update every 6 weeks, Pocket RAWS every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Wildfire Aware® | Pocket RAWS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (24 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 97.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 24 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 27.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 164 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Analytical Moose LLC | Josh Bradley |
Customer experience
Wildfire Aware®
Pocket RAWS
Bugs and requests
Wildfire Aware®
Reported bugs
3 issues- Extremely slow and constantly freezes
- Crashes multiple times
- Took forever to load during a wildfire
Requested features
1 request- Reintroduce wind streams overlay on the map
Pocket RAWS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Wildfire Aware®
- Wildfire Aware Monthly$2.991 Month
- Wildfire Aware$2.991 Month
- Wildfire Aware Yearly$19.991 Year
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- Wildfire Aware$19.991 Year
Pocket RAWS
- Pro RAWS1 Month trial$9.991 Year
Questions
Is Wildfire Aware® free?
Is Pocket RAWS free?
Which has better reviews, Wildfire Aware® or Pocket RAWS?
Do Wildfire Aware® or Pocket RAWS have ads?
Which is updated more often, Wildfire Aware® or Pocket RAWS?
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