Australian Bushfires - Spatial Technologies

A range of spatial technologies have been used during and after the Australian Bushfires 2019-2020. Emergency Services have used apps to communicate with the public about the location of fires and the risk to the public. Members of the public have been able to refer to geospatial information about air quality and weather conditions, and following the fires, environmental groups have been able to use geospatial tools to communicate and coordinate locations of feeding and watering stations for wildlife.

Fires Near Me
Fires Near Me is the NSW Rural Fire Service app. It provides information on current bushfires - location, size, type, severity and current warnings. The app and associated website is updated regularly. Users can establish "Watch Zones" to receive notifications about fires within that specific area. ​

Fires Near Me
Fires Near Me is the NSW Rural Fire Service app. It provides information on current bushfires - location, size, type, severity and current warnings. The app and associated website is updated regularly. Users can establish "Watch Zones" to receive notifications about fires within that specific area. 


VicEmergency
​VicEmergency is the State of Victoria - Department of Justice app. Similar to the Fires Near Me app, it provides updated information about locations and severity of fires and emergency warnings, 

VIC Fires
VIC Fires is another app which focuses on fires in Victoria, but this is operated by a private app developer. It draws on information from the Country Fire Authority and Victorian Department of Sustainability data feeds and data from the Bureau of Meteorology.

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Bushfires in Queensland
Provides access to data on bushfires in Queensland. It shows information from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.

MyFireWatch
MyFireWatch is a collaboration between Edith Cowan University and Landgate and tracks bushfires.

https://myfirewatch.landgate.wa.gov.au

Current Bushfires
Current Bushfires is the Queensland Government - Rural Fire Service website.

​https://www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au/map/Pages/default.aspx

Air Quality Index Visual Map
The Air Quality Index Visual Map uses Air Quality Monitoring stations to collect data about air quality and represent it spatially. Air Quality is categorised as Good, Moderate, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, Hazardous.

http://aqicn.org/here/

Bureau of Meteorology
​The Australian Bureau of Meteorology website provides up to date information about weather conditions that may impact on bushfires, such as temperature and wind.

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/national_radar_sat.loop.shtml

Water Our Wildlife CCWSAR Map
The Central Coast Wildlife Search and Rescue created a google map to share information about feeding and watering stations to help surviving wildlife. This enables volunteers to independently visit sites for restocking.

​Water Our Wildlife CCWSAR Map
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