TitanSkies uses preliminary observations, model forecasts, and agency-reported incidents that may be delayed, incomplete, inaccurate, retained from an earlier update, or unavailable. It does not identify smoke origin and is not an emergency alert or medical service. Check source timestamps, official alerts, and local health guidance before acting.
- Forecast versus observed air quality
- NOAA HRRR-Smoke and ECCC FireWork are model forecasts. This publication provides one continuous 24-hour outlook. Air-quality markers are preliminary official PM2.5 observations at exact station locations. Neither product attributes pollution to a wildfire.
- How the smoke outlook is built
- TitanSkies starts with ECCC FireWork Canadian guidance. Where both models are valid, the numeric formula is FireWork + edgeWeight × max(HRRR − FireWork, 0). The U.S. enhancement fades in over 200 km from HRRR’s edge. Concentrations are combined before colorization. This is not an average or a calibrated ensemble.
- How PM2.5 readings are prepared
- AirNow provides provider-reported EPA PM2.5 AQI. TitanSkies calculates EPA NowCast AQI from official B.C. ENV and SINAICA hourly PM2.5 readings so the displayed station markers use a comparable EPA scale. AQHI remains a separate Canadian health-risk scale. Each marker remains an individual observation.
- Map geography
- Natural Earth supplies bundled city and boundary data. Landmark coordinates and stable IDs come from Wikidata structured data under CC0. Map generation is pinned and makes no production geocoding requests.
- Reported wildfires
- US WFIGS and Canadian CWFIS incidents are agency reports. An incident does not prove the origin of a forecast plume or observed pollution.
- Privacy
- TitanSkies is self-hosted, includes no analytics, and sends searches and selected locations nowhere.
