New iOS App: Angeles Intel.

New iOS App: Angeles Intel.
If there was cell reception on San Gabriel Peak, this composite could be reality

I'm excited to announce this new free, ad-free iOS app that brings together formerly-disconnected and non-free information into one easy-to-use place! A live audio stream of the Angeles National Forest's "Forest Net" comes together with a view of current incidents complete with a map and details, links to helpful forest resources, and a timeline with playback of recordings of radio transmissions.

If you're as obsessed with knowing what's going on in Angeles National Forest (ANF) as I am, you will love this app. Download by clicking below, or continue reading if you wish:

Features

  • Live Incident Feed: from Angeles National Forest (ANF) dispatch to your iPhone, information is updated once-per-minute
  • ANF Live Audio: live audio streams of Forest Net, and Admin Net. (See Admin Net restriction below)
  • LA County Fire Live Streams: since ANF frequently works with LA County Fire Department (LACoFD), you can also flip on live streams (and recordings) of the command channels often used. You'll find them in the Settings view, each with an indicator of the current day's usage
  • Chronological, Unified Timeline: gives you the ability to playback missed recordings of Forest Net and any other streams you've turned on in Settings, with CAD incidents interlaced
  • Interactive Map: see incidents on a semi-customizable map and optionally toggle on USFS Forest Visitor points of interest (campground, picnic grounds, visitor centers)
  • Choices: use the app how you want to use it! There are many customizations possible in Settings, with more on the way
  • No Tracking/Ads/Subscriptions: it's totally free, and free of creepy things like trackers. See below for more details
  • Privacy-First: in an age where everything (paid or free) seems to track us, Landmark 717 continues to rebel. There is no tracking functionality of any kind. App crash data is anonymized and processed via privacy-oriented TelemetryDeck. Your location is only queried if you choose to tap the ubiquitous 'my location' icon within the expanded map view and approve within the familiar iOS prompt - it is never stored or transmitted. The app's full Privacy Policy covers everything in greater detail

Special Features for Firefighters

Some features have been restricted to those with .gov email addresses, and those features and the reasoning for gatekeeping each is below:

  • Admin Net: most notable are the live stream and recordings of ANF's "Admin Net" (law talk) channel. The whole purpose of this project has been to democratize data in an organized manner for free, so it may seem a bit odd that this part of gated. Well, the frequent Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of individuals shared on the channel - full names, DL numbers, street addresses, and license plate numbers - would make it very easy to dox an innocent person. The gating approach is being tested out, so if you have any feedback, please get in touch
  • Fire Weather Forecasts: I didn't think many of us civilians would find these interesting, but that was in hindsight a poor choice. Anyone will be able to turn these on via Settings, next release (version 1.1, May 2026)
  • Pull-Refresh: by default, the feeds refresh once per minute as you'll see thanks to a little countdown in each view. Authenticated users have the ability to pull down to refresh a view if desired. This is gated because every request costs money and I need to limit the frequency of those calls

This app was made for you - perhaps a forest visitor, news gatherer, or wildland firefighter. As such, your feedback is extremely important and I want to know the good, bad and ugly, and I welcome your ideas. I hope you enjoy the new app and that you'll get in touch if you have any of those. πŸ™‚

If you're curious about upcoming new features and bug fixes, or want to join the Beta testing group, please see this page:

Docs: Angeles Intel. Mobile App
What It Is Angeles Intel. (short for intelligence) is a new mobile app featuring a live incident feed from Angeles National Forest (ANF) dispatch, updated every 60 seconds. Stream Forest Net radio communications live, view incidents on a map, check nearby weather stations, and track aircraft with ADS-B - all

Finally, stay tuned for blog posts covering how it all works - from our computer-controlled radio scanning station in North Hollywood, to the cloud architecture making this offering free, and the role agentic AI played in making it all possible! Sign up below to get an email when that's online.

-Mark Mutti