Saved copies keep the app responsive
When a public feed is slow, TRLskr may show the most recently available saved result instead of holding the page behind a loading state.
System dossier // methodology // sources // limits
About TRLskr
TRLskr is now a seismic-first natural hazard intelligence app. It combines live public feeds for earthquakes, fires, smoke, floods, severe storms, tropical cyclones, tsunami alerts, drought, volcanic activity, and related events with trail research as a secondary planning workflow.
Methodology
How the app works
- The root app opens on a seismic and natural hazards dashboard that requests earthquake, NASA EONET, NOAA/NWS, NOAA/NHC, NOAA/SPC, GDACS, US Drought Monitor, InciWeb, NASA FIRMS, and AirNow-backed event data from live public sources when available.
- Trail pages remain available under Trails and are built from curated route records plus weather, air-quality, nearby recreation, and selected wildlife context.
- Recently saved public feed results may be shown while live sources respond, so values in the app can lag behind source systems by minutes or longer depending on the feed.
- Search, filtering, and page organization are designed to help compare hazard context and trail options quickly, but they do not rank routes or locations for safety, fitness, accessibility, or suitability for every visitor.
Information only
What TRLskr is not
- Not turn-by-turn navigation or a substitute for trail signage, ranger guidance, or official park maps.
- Not emergency guidance and not a source for evacuation, wildfire response, earthquake response, flood response, storm response, tsunami response, or medical decisions.
- Not a guarantee that a trail is open, safe, staffed, accessible, accurately mapped, smoke-free, or appropriate for children, pets, or mobility devices on a given day.
- Not a promise that third-party data is complete, current, or error-free.
Data freshness
How updates and saved data work
TRLskr uses recently saved copies of public feed responses so the app can open quickly while live sources are waking up or temporarily slow. When fresh data is available, the app updates the saved copy and shows the newest known update time in the footer.
Fresh data replaces saved data when available
The app checks for newer earthquake, hazard, and trail records on a schedule and when users request a live refresh.
The footer shows the newest known update time
The date in the footer reflects the newest feed timestamp the app has received. Some individual sources may update more or less often.
Sources
Primary information sources
The current app uses a mix of curated trail content and public or government data services. Availability, freshness, and coverage depend on those upstream systems.
National Weather Service / weather.gov
Forecast point and period data used to show short-term weather outlooks near a trail coordinate.
Used for: Weather forecast context
Source:https://api.weather.gov/
AirNow
Air-quality observations used for current AQI summaries around selected coordinates.
Used for: Air-quality context
Source:https://www.airnow.gov/
Recreation.gov RIDB
Facility and recreation inventory data used to surface nearby recreation locations.
Used for: Nearby recreation facilities
Source:https://ridb.recreation.gov/
National Park Service Developer API
Species records used for selected wildlife summaries tied to park codes.
Used for: Wildlife and species context
USGS Earthquake Catalog
Recent earthquake event data used in the seismic dashboard and related trail context.
Used for: Earthquake telemetry
NASA EONET
Open event feeds used for wildfire, flood, storm, volcano, landslide, ice, dust, and related natural hazard context in the hazard views.
Used for: Global natural hazard event context
Source:https://eonet.gsfc.nasa.gov/
NASA FIRMS
Active fire detection data used for recent satellite-observed fire hotspots when a FIRMS map key is configured on the seismic worker.
Used for: Active fire detection context
National Weather Service Alerts
Active United States weather, flood, fire weather, winter storm, tropical, marine, and tsunami alert polygons used in the hazard dashboard when geometry is available.
Used for: US weather and flood warning context
NOAA National Hurricane Center
Current tropical cyclone data used for direct hurricane and tropical storm map context when active systems are available.
Used for: Tropical cyclone context
Source:https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
NOAA Storm Prediction Center
Severe weather outlook data used for tornado, wind, hail, and convective storm planning context.
Used for: Severe storm outlook context
NOAA / NWS Tsunami Alerts
Tsunami alert feed data used for tsunami-specific event context when alerts include usable coordinates.
Used for: Tsunami alert context
Source:https://www.tsunami.gov/
US Drought Monitor
Drought monitor data used for drought hazard context when geospatial records are available from the upstream feed.
Used for: Drought context
InciWeb
Incident feed data used for wildfire incident context when open feed records include usable coordinates.
Used for: Wildfire incident context
GDACS
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System event feeds used for tropical cyclone, flood, volcano, drought, wildfire, and earthquake incident context.
Used for: Global disaster alert context
Source:https://www.gdacs.org/
Interpretation guidance
How to use this information responsibly
- Verify closures, permits, fire restrictions, and weather conditions with the relevant land manager or official source before travel.
- Use local judgment on terrain, wildlife, heat, smoke, trail damage, and water availability.
- Treat seismic, hazard, weather, and air-quality data as reference context rather than a final go or no-go instruction.
- If conditions matter to safety, rely on official agency alerts and on-site signage over app content.