Google Maps will help detect wildfires in the US
In California and Colorado wildfires can now be tracked through its Google Maps app.

Northern California and Colorado triggered a new feature on Google due to the forest fires and lightning storms that recently struck the two states. Google will provide real-time updates and information on the fires once the search is complete on the Google Map app and home page. This week, more than 350 wildfires occurred across Northern California. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as 26 cities required an immediate response. Colorado was also struck in Pine Gulch, which became one of the largest fires in the state's history. Several evacuations were also carried out. As experts predict a continuation of the fires in August and September, Google is busy rolling out the pilot application, which should be available for the entire United States. They will outline the boundaries of the fires and provide information about road blocks or closings. The company works with NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration), which provides weather data. NOAA has satellites that are used to track weather patterns and provide images across the United States. The fire detection program is updated every 5 minutes and thus provides real-time updates. Since this can be such a long time in rapid fire outbreaks, it will definitely help with slow-spreading fires. The app doesn't provide predictive information as many would think, but it does have plans for the future as the features develop. Google also faces another challenge as most of the fire outbreaks are in remote rural areas. Most of these areas do not have reliable cellular service and may have roads that are not initially visible on the maps. It is recommended that these people download offline maps. Another route that Google has used is to work with state officials to deploy some of the Google employees to the state operations center. About a decade ago, Google added the emergency response information service. It has several functions such as the SOS warnings. This technical function is now used to send COVID-19 alarms.





