FAQ
General
Section titled “General”What is Wildflyer?
Section titled “What is Wildflyer?”Wildflyer is a wildfire incident management platform built for European fire services. It combines real-time fire weather data, interactive mapping, and team collaboration tools into a single application.
Where is Wildflyer available?
Section titled “Where is Wildflyer available?”Wildflyer covers all of Europe with fire weather data. Weather models range from high-resolution local models (1–2 km) to global models, depending on the region.
Which browsers are supported?
Section titled “Which browsers are supported?”All modern browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Wildflyer also works as an installable app on mobile and desktop — see Install the App.
Does Wildflyer work offline?
Section titled “Does Wildflyer work offline?”Yes. Wildflyer is a progressive web app with offline support. Weather data and incident information are cached locally so you can keep working without connectivity. Changes sync automatically when you’re back online.
Account & Organisation
Section titled “Account & Organisation”How do I log in?
Section titled “How do I log in?”Wildflyer uses passwordless login. Enter your email at app.wildflyer.co and you’ll receive a 5-digit verification code by email. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it.
Can I belong to multiple organisations?
Section titled “Can I belong to multiple organisations?”Yes. You can be a member of multiple organisations and switch between them from the sidebar.
What’s the difference between viewer and editor roles?
Section titled “What’s the difference between viewer and editor roles?”Viewers can browse the map, view forecasts, and see incidents. Editors can also create incidents, manage team members, and configure organisation settings like danger thresholds and weather models.
Data & Privacy
Section titled “Data & Privacy”Where is my data stored?
Section titled “Where is my data stored?”All data is stored on servers in the European Union (Hetzner, Germany), in compliance with GDPR.
What weather data sources does Wildflyer use?
Section titled “What weather data sources does Wildflyer use?”Wildflyer combines data from multiple numerical weather prediction models — see Weather Models for a full list. Fire weather indices are computed from these model outputs.
Can I export my data?
Section titled “Can I export my data?”Data export is available for organisation administrators.
Fire Weather
Section titled “Fire Weather”Why is the FWI still high in the morning after a cloudy night?
Section titled “Why is the FWI still high in the morning after a cloudy night?”The FWI system’s Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC) tracks 1-hour dead fuel moisture — thin dead vegetation such as grass, pine needles, and thin twigs. These fuels recover moisture overnight primarily through two mechanisms: rising humidity and dew formation.
On a cloudy night, clouds act as an insulating blanket: they absorb outgoing heat from the ground and re-emit it downward, keeping night-time temperatures 3–6°C higher than they would be under clear skies. Because temperatures remain higher, minimum relative humidity is lower, and the surface never cools enough to reach the dew point — so no dew forms. Without dew, fine fuels rely entirely on air humidity to recover, and if humidity only reaches 55–65% instead of 80–90%, recovery is minimal.
A fire that had an FFMC of 92 at 18:00 might only recover to FFMC 85 after a cloudy night, versus FFMC 72 after a clear night with dew. The morning danger window therefore opens higher and earlier than expected.
Additionally, the DMC and DC (deeper fuel moisture codes) are unaffected by a single cloudy night — they respond on timescales of days to months. Even if FFMC partially recovers, drought codes may remain high.
See Cloud Cover for a full explanation of the cloud cover and overnight recovery relationship.
It rained yesterday — why is fire danger still elevated?
Section titled “It rained yesterday — why is fire danger still elevated?”The answer depends on how much rain fell, the state of fuels before the rain, and which part of the FWI system you are looking at. The FWI system has three distinct memory components with very different recovery rates:
- FFMC (fine fuels, 1-hour time-lag) — even light rain (3–5 mm) can significantly recover the FFMC. After 10–15 mm, fine fuels are back to low-risk moisture content. This is the fastest-responding component.
- DMC (medium-depth organic matter) — recovery is slow. 10 mm of rain produces limited improvement. A soil that has dried for three weeks needs sustained rainfall over several days to recover meaningfully.
- DC (deep organic layers) — the longest-memory component of the FWI system, with a decay constant of over 50 days. A single rain event has almost no effect on the DC. In severe drought years, the DC may remain critically high even after a week of intermittent rain.
If 10 mm fell yesterday, the FFMC recovered and fine fuel spread potential is reduced — but the BUI (which combines DMC and DC) remains high, meaning deep fuels are still available for intense combustion. The fire danger has partially reduced, not disappeared.
If only 2–4 mm fell, even the FFMC may not have fully recovered. Light rain wets the top surface of the fuel but does not penetrate. When solar radiation begins the next morning, this thin moisture layer evaporates within 1–2 hours and the FFMC climbs back toward its previous level by noon.
How do I use Wildflyer’s forecast to plan resource allocation?
Section titled “How do I use Wildflyer’s forecast to plan resource allocation?”See the full guide: Reading the Forecast for Fire Operations.
Support
Section titled “Support”How do I contact support?
Section titled “How do I contact support?”Email us at support@wildflyer.co. We typically respond within one business day.