Eye on the Fire

Overview

Eye on the Fire is a fire safety and awareness website built to provide real-time fire updates, prevention tips, and community-shared resources. The site aims to empower individuals and communities to stay ahead of wildfires by offering actionable information and a platform to share experiences. It is hosted on Cloudflare Pages and developed with a focus on SEO, mobile responsiveness, and user engagement.

Pages

• Home (index.html): Main landing page with sections for real-time fire updates, prevention tips, and a community hub.
• About Us (about.html): Information about Eye on the Fire LLC, including its mission, team, and official recognition by the State of Montana.
• Recent Fires (recent-fires.html): A dedicated page showcasing media (photos and videos) from the LA and Pacific Palisades fires of January 2025, along with fire safety tips and community engagement features.

Features

• Real-time fire updates (placeholder functionality).
• Fire prevention tips with actionable advice.
• Community hub for sharing fire-related photos and videos.
• SEO optimizations (structured data, meta tags, internal/external linking).
• Mobile-responsive design with a fire-themed aesthetic.
• Social sharing buttons to increase engagement.
• Google Analytics integration (via Google Tag Manager).

Project Structure

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• A Cloudflare account with Cloudflare Pages set up.
• Git (if deploying via Git).
• A code editor (e.g., VS Code) for making changes.

Local Development

1. Clone the Repository (if using Git): If you’re not using Git, download the project files and extract them to a local directory.

2. Open the Project:

• Open the project folder in your code editor.
• Use a local server to preview the site (e.g., with VS Code’s Live Server extension or by running python -m http.server in the project directory).

3. Make Changes:

• Edit HTML files (index.html, about.html, recent-fires.html) to update content.
• Modify styles.css for styling changes.
• Update scripts.js for JavaScript functionality.
• Ensure all media files (images, videos) are placed in the images and videos folders.

Deployment

Deploying to Cloudflare Pages

1. Using Git:

• Push changes to your repository:
• Cloudflare Pages will automatically build and deploy the updated site.

2. Direct Upload:

• Log in to your Cloudflare account.
• Navigate to Pages > eyeonthefire > Upload assets.
• Upload the entire project folder (including sitemap.xml, robots.txt, images, videos, etc.).
• Deploy the site.

Post-Deployment

• Verify Sitemap: Submit sitemap.xml to Google Search Console:
• Go to Google Search Console.
• Select your property (https://eyeonthefire.com/).
• Navigate to Sitemaps, enter sitemap.xml, and click Submit.
• Check Google Analytics: Ensure the Google Tag (G-T8RE6KDBEW) is firing (dev tools > Network > googletagmanager.com).
• Test Accessibility: Open https://eyeonthefire.com/sitemap.xml and https://eyeonthefire.com/robots.txt in a browser to confirm they’re accessible.

SEO Optimizations

The site includes several SEO best practices:

• Structured Data: Schema markup for WebPage, ImageObject, VideoObject, and Place (on recent-fires.html).
• Meta Tags: Optimized <title>, <meta name="description">, and <meta name="keywords"> on all pages.
• Internal Linking: Links between pages (e.g., from recent-fires.html to index.html#fires).
• External Link-Outs: Links to authoritative fire safety resources (e.g., Cal Fire, Ready.gov) on recent-fires.html.
• Sitemap: sitemap.xml lists all pages with appropriate changefreq and priority.
• Robots: robots.txt allows crawling and points to the sitemap.

Troubleshooting

• Sitemap "Couldn't Fetch" Error:
• Ensure sitemap.xml is in the root directory and accessible at https://eyeonthefire.com/sitemap.xml.
• Check robots.txt to confirm it doesn’t block the sitemap.
• Verify Cloudflare firewall rules aren’t blocking Googlebot.
• Resubmit the sitemap in Google Search Console and wait 24-48 hours.
• Media Not Displaying:
• Confirm file paths (e.g., /images/palisades-fire-highway-smoke.jpg) match the actual file locations.
• Ensure files are optimized (images <100KB, videos <10MB).
• Mobile Issues:
• If content is cramped, adjust padding in .fires-text or .media-item in styles.css.
• Clear browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+R) and retest.

Contributing

To contribute to this project:

1. Fork the repository (if using Git).
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/new-content).
3. Make changes and test locally.
4. Commit changes (git commit -m "Added new fire safety tips").
5. Push to your fork (git push origin feature/new-content).
6. Create a pull request to the main repository.

Contact

For questions or support, reach out to info@eyeonthefire.com or visit our Community Hub.

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Last Updated: March 25, 2025