EMBER BADGE

What this alert means

EMBER covers Fire Warnings (FRW) and Evacuation Immediate (EVI) orders sent by local officials when a wildfire or other fire threatens an area. An Evacuation Immediate message means leave now.

Wildfires can spread faster than people expect, especially with wind.

What to do if you get one

• If officials tell you to evacuate, leave immediately. Do not wait to see the fire.
• Follow the evacuation route officials give you. Take your go-bag, medications, documents and pets.
• If you are trapped, call 911 and tell them where you are.
• Smoke is dangerous: stay indoors with windows closed when told to, and use an N95 mask if you must be in smoke.

Summarized from the official guidance below. The alert itself and your local authorities always come first.

How the badge is earned

Your home area is inside a fire warning or evacuation alert area.

It happens automatically. The Badge Quest server reads the public FEMA IPAWS and National Weather Service alert feeds and awards the badge when an alert's official target area covers the home area you set (ZIP code or location). There's nothing to log or claim, and it can't be faked.

How rare is it?

UNCOMMON ★★☆☆☆: the UNCOMMON tier means 200 to 999 WEA messages a year nationally. ~543 WEA messages/yr nationally (2023-25 avg: 271 / 658 / 701).

How rarity is calculated

Upgrade: PHOENIX

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PHOENIX

★★★☆☆ RARE

After 10 different qualifying alerts for your area, the game shows “Hold on... your EMBER badge is upgrading!” and then “Your EMBER badge was upgraded to a PHOENIX!”. Repeats of the same alert don't count twice.

“Ten fire and evacuation alerts. Go-bag on a hook by the door. You rise every time.”

Upgraded badges rank one rarity tier above their base badge (capped at LEGENDARY). That tier is a game rule, not a separate statistic.

Part of these combo badges

• DESERT DWELLER
• SHAKE 'N BAKE
• FOUR ELEMENTS

Official sources

• Ready.gov: Wildfires
• Ready.gov: Evacuation

Rarity data

• OpenFEMA IPAWS Archived Alerts (dataset)