SmokeMap | Wildfire Smoke Exposure

Where is wildfire smoke exposure most consequential for people?

Data health

Waiting for live sources…

How to read this map

Hazard / signal: Smoke / fire-related air conditions
Exposure: Population exposure
Consequence / vulnerability: Health vulnerability

Official/source values remain distinct from MitchellCo derived screening scores or estimates. Derived values are for prioritization and interpretation, not official warnings or predictions.

Layers

NOAA HMS smokeSatellite-observed plume extent and qualitative density. NOAA HMS fire detectionsCurrent satellite fire pixels, sized by FRP when available. AirNow PM2.5 monitorsLatest-hour PM2.5 concentration and AQI from the US EPA AirNow monitoring-site layer. ↑NWS surface windLatest station wind; arrows point downwind. More stations appear as you zoom in. CDC county vulnerability2022 Social Vulnerability Index and population context.

HMS light smoke

HMS medium smoke

HMS heavy smoke

PM AQI good

moderate

unhealthy for sensitive groups+

What this map combines

Hazard: NOAA fire detections and satellite-observed smoke. Transport: NWS surface winds. Observed exposure: AirNow PM2.5. Vulnerability: CDC SVI and county population. HMS smoke can be aloft, so surface PM2.5 is kept visually distinct.

Derived smoke exposure score

Non-official score = PM + HMS + fire/wind + SVI
PM = min(50, PM2.5 AQI / 3)
HMS = 0 / 10 / 20 / 30 for none/light/medium/heavy
Fire/wind = 15 × max(0,1-distance/200 mi) × max(0,cos(Δθ)), only with fire ≤200 mi and wind station ≤150 mi
SVI = 5 × county overall SVI rank
Score capped at 100.

The score is a screening aid, not an EPA, NOAA, or NWS alert or forecast. A high score does not prove wildfire smoke caused the measured PM2.5.

Live status

Smoke polygons—

Fire detections—

PM2.5 monitors—

Wind stations—

CDC counties—

Smoke: not loaded

Fire: not loaded

PM2.5: not loaded

Wind: not loaded

SVI: not loaded

Refresh / vintage

HMS smoke/fire: 30 min. NWS wind: 15 min. AirNow PM2.5 monitoring sites: 60 min, matching the EPA layer's hourly update cadence. CDC SVI: 2022, loaded once per state. Polling pauses while hidden/offline; requests are staggered, cached, overlap-blocked, and back off after failures.

Sources

NOAA/NESDIS HMS · HMS smoke feature layer · HMS fire feature layer · NWS/MADIS surface observations · US EPA AirNow current monitoring-site layer · CDC/ATSDR SVI.

AirNow observations are preliminary and not regulatory AQS data. The previous direct AirNow daily-data file was removed because AirNow disables browser CORS for direct web access; this map now uses EPA's anonymous ArcGIS feature service instead. HMS smoke is satellite-observed column smoke, not a guaranteed surface concentration. No API key or NASA FIRMS MAP_KEY endpoint is used. Basemaps: USGS Imagery Topo, USGS Topo, USGS Shaded Relief, OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap, and NASA GIBS Blue Marble.