App Store Adds ‘Wildfire Awareness’ Section; ‘AB Emergency Alert’ Trending

It’s only the beginning of May but temperatures in some parts of Canada already feel like summer. With the heat comes forest fires, such as the apocalyptic and devastating situation right now in Fort McMurray.

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Apple has added a new section to the App Store’s main page, called Wildfire Awareness, which features essential apps to have for those in fire-prone regions. Included curated apps include those to alert of wildfires, weather apps and news apps:

As for the App Store trending searches, right now Alberta Emergency Alert is a trending search, the name of the province’s app for issuing critical emergency alerts, which right now is related to wildfires in Fort McMurray.

Currently, Rogers/Fido and TELUS/Koodo are offering free calls and text to and from Fort McMurray to help aid efforts. Rogers and Bell also have each donated $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross.

The Federal government announced this morning all personal donations to the Canadian Red Cross made by Canadians will be matched. You can easily text a donation by doing the following from your cellphone:

  • Text the word REDCROSS to number 45678 for a $10 donation
  • Text the word REDCROSS to number 30333 for a $5 donation
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