Dale for Town Council
Safety and Nature Apps
download from your app store or from links below
Pulsepoint - maintained by a public non-profit, this app offers several features, but also shows every 911 dispatch. I set to receive alerts for all fires in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties during fire season. Link
Watch Duty - maintained by fire reporters and volunteers, this app tracks all wildfires in CA and does offer push notifications. Link
Smokepoint - view cameras that cover the area to look for fire smoke Link
MyShake - Earthquake early warning and alerts Link
Merlin - for bird lovers, identify birds from their calls, from The Cornell Lab Link
iNaturalist - identify and share your pictures of flora and fauna, from CA Academy of Science Link
Seek by iNaturalist - similar to iNaturalist, but data is not shared and this app is geared toward enabling kids to explore their natural environment Link
Safety and Nature Websites
Know your zone - Safety professionals may call for evacuations by ZONE. It is important to know your zone which can be found here Link
SMC Alert - This is the primary emergency notification system for San Mateo county. Sign up here Link
Portola Valley Emergency Radio - AM 1680 for streaming use Link
CATopo - IMO the best site for monitoring current, new and old wildfires. Includes topographical information, prevailing winds, fire satellite data, overlays for previous fires, et. cet.
Fire Safe San Mateo County - monthly educational meetings and a source for fire information Link
Purple Air - air quality monitors Link
LightningMaps - actively monitors live/recent lightning strikes Link
Space Weather - for radio users and others to monitor geomagnetic storms Link
El Nino/La Nina Forecast - from Columbia Climate School based on NOAA data Link
The Lookout - fire behavior by Zeke Lunder Link
Relevant Fire Safety Links
Moritz Presentation to WPC February 1, 2022- A discussion of fire maps and the difference between CalFire maps and the Moritz map Link
NIST WUI Fire Days - Four days of presentations and data from the National Institute of Standard and Technology. A lot of information; particularly on buidling separation Link
Flamemapper - Woodside Fire Protection District has contracted with Flamemapper to deliver next generation Fire Maps that will include the impact of structures on the landscape. The expectation is that the resulting Fire Map will have far more VHFDSZs than the Moritz Map. Here is the company's website Link