Question 1

What do Prepare, Likely, and Ordered mean?

Accepted Answer

Prepare is the preparation tier, Likely is the likely-evacuation tier, and Ordered is the ordered-evacuation tier. These labels describe zone data only; no confirmed evacuation-zone source is connected, so the map currently shows no zone shapes or tier values. Follow your local emergency authority for instructions.

Question 2

Will Embertrail send me an alert when a zone changes?

Accepted Answer

Embertrail does not send automatic alerts when map zones change. You can opt in to browser notifications for command-issued warnings: Embertrail attempts to notify subscribed household browsers whose saved home points fall inside the selected division. Delivery is best-effort, and push service acceptance does not confirm receipt. Browser notifications supplement and never replace official local alerts and instructions. Resident SMS and email alerts are not provided.

Question 3

What happens when I tap “I’m safe” or “Need help”?

Accepted Answer

Either status is shared with people who have the family link after it syncs. If you are offline, the check-in is queued on that device and is not shared until it syncs. “Need help” does not send a separate alert or contact responders. No login or app install is required.

Question 4

Does a check-in share my location?

Accepted Answer

When you tap either check-in button, the browser tries to get your location. It is included only if permission is granted and a position is returned. Otherwise, the check-in is status-only.

Question 5

Where does the fire-perimeter data come from, and how current is it?

Accepted Answer

Fire perimeters come from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) / Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) Active Fire Perimeters feed. Embertrail caches the upstream response for about 60 seconds, and the map requests refreshed app data about every 90 seconds. These are app request intervals, not the agency’s update schedule or a freshness guarantee. Evacuation zones are separate; no confirmed zone source is connected, so the map shows no zone shapes or tier values.