🚩 Red Flag Check — Public API

Free, no-auth, CORS-enabled. Integrate into a county website, school-district page, mutual-aid app, or news widget. Cached at the edge for 60 seconds.

What this API gives you that the raw NWS API doesn't: address-based lookup (geocoded for you), a yes/no Red Flag verdict for that address, tonight's wind/RH forecast at the point, ready-to-display plain-English action checklists differentiated for in-zone / adjacent / out-of-zone, pre-built Genasys evacuation-zone deeplinks, and stable JSON contracts.

Base URL

https://redflag-check.info/api/v1

All endpoints return JSON. No API key required. Open CORS (Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *). Cached for 60 seconds at the Vercel edge.

OpenAPI 3.1 spec: https://redflag-check.info/openapi.yaml

Open it interactively (no signup, no install):

Open in Swagger Editor — try every endpoint live in the browser
Browse with Redoc — clean reference docs
Import to Postman
Generate a client in any language with openapi-generator-cli generate -i https://redflag-check.info/openapi.yaml -g <your-language>

6 endpoints · 18 schemas · full parameter docs and response examples included.

Endpoints

GET/api/v1/zone-check

Check whether a Red Flag Warning currently covers a specific address or coordinate. Returns the verdict, the active alert(s), tonight's wind + humidity forecast at that point, a differentiated action checklist, and pre-built evacuation-zone links.

Query parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
`address`	Either this OR lat+lng	Full US address. Geocoded via US Census.
`lat`	If no address	Latitude in decimal degrees.
`lng`	If no address	Longitude in decimal degrees.

Example

curl 'https://redflag-check.info/api/v1/zone-check?address=12250+Skyline+Blvd,+Oakland,+CA'

Response (abbreviated)

{
  "input": { "address": "12250 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA", "lat_requested": null, "lng_requested": null },
  "location": { "lat": 37.7811, "lng": -122.1556, "matched_address": "12250 SKYLINE BLVD, OAKLAND, CA, 94619" },
  "in_red_flag_zone": true,
  "alerts": [{
    "event": "Red Flag Warning",
    "headline": "Red Flag Warning issued for the East Bay Hills...",
    "starts": "2026-06-10T23:00:00-07:00",
    "ends": "2026-06-11T09:00:00-07:00",
    "instruction": "A Red Flag Warning means..."
  }],
  "forecast": {
    "tonight": { "max_wind_mph": 45, "min_humidity_pct": 14, "summary": "Windy" },
    "next_24h": [ ... ]
  },
  "action_checklist": {
    "category": "in_zone",
    "do_now": [ "Charge your phone...", "Park your car facing OUTWARD...", ... ],
    "do_not": [ "Do NOT mow dry grass.", ... ],
    "if_evacuation_called": [ ... ]
  },
  "links": {
    "genasys_evacuation_zone_lookup": "https://protect.genasys.com/search?lat=...",
    "official_ac_alert_signup": "https://member.everbridge.net/index/...",
    "watch_duty": "https://www.watchduty.org",
    "airnow_fire_map": "https://fire.airnow.gov/"
  },
  "sources": [ "NWS api.weather.gov", "US Census geocoder", "Genasys Protect" ],
  "disclaimer": "Informational only...",
  "generated_at": "2026-06-08T..."
}

GET/api/v1/status

All active Red Flag Warnings in California (or any US state via ?area=...). Useful for news widgets, county PIO dashboards, or any system that just wants the raw list of current RFWs.

Query parameters

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
`area`	No	`CA`	Two-letter US state code (e.g., `CA`, `NV`, `OR`).

Example

curl 'https://redflag-check.info/api/v1/status'

GET/api/v1/schools

List of supported East Bay schools with id, name, district, address, and pre-resolved lat/lng. Use these id values with /school-status.

Example

curl 'https://redflag-check.info/api/v1/schools'

GET/api/v1/school-status

Per-school decision view. Returns the zone status at the school's address, tonight's wind+humidity forecast, and a recommended-action level (normal / modify_outdoor / indoors_only / consider_closure) with rationale citing CIF AQI thresholds.

Query parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
`id`	Yes	School id from `/api/v1/schools`.

Example

curl 'https://redflag-check.info/api/v1/school-status?id=skyline-oakland'

GET/api/v1/buddy-template

Generate a check-in template for a neighbor / vulnerable contact: ready-to-send iMessage text, mailto link, downloadable .ics calendar reminder, and (if friend coords provided) their Red Flag zone status. Built for mutual-aid networks and community organizers.

Query parameters

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
`name`	No	"your neighbor"	Friend's first name.
`time`	No	22:30 PT today	ISO 8601 reminder time.
`friend_lat`	No	—	Friend's latitude (for zone lookup).
`friend_lng`	No	—	Friend's longitude.

Example

curl 'https://redflag-check.info/api/v1/buddy-template?name=Jane&friend_lat=37.7811&friend_lng=-122.1556'

GET/api/v1/health

Service health + upstream API status. Useful for integrators to monitor.

Embed widget

Drop this iframe into any web page — works on county sites, school district pages, news articles, anywhere:

<iframe src="https://redflag-check.info/embed/zone-check"
  width="100%" height="520" frameborder="0"
  style="max-width:480px;border-radius:12px;"></iframe>

Sets X-Frame-Options: ALLOWALL + permissive CSP so it embeds anywhere.

Rate limits + caching

No formal rate limit at this tier — we cache aggressively at the Vercel edge (60s).
If you're doing high-volume scheduled polling (more than ~1 req/sec sustained), email vedant28t [at] gmail [dot] com so we can plan capacity.
If the NWS upstream is degraded, we'll return a 502 with details — check /api/v1/health.

License + attribution

API responses are public-domain data (NWS, US Census). The wrapper, UX, and aggregation are MIT-licensed. Attribution appreciated but not required.

Source code

github.com/vedant-f-is-ma/redflag-check — open PRs welcome.

Contact

Built by a Fremont high schooler in 48 hours. Reach out: vedant28t [at] gmail [dot] com (replace [at]/[dot], or click — link is encoded against scrapers)

Informational only. NOT an official emergency service. For official alerts, sign up at AC Alert. In case of fire, call 911.