# Automating Fire Ban Updates with Shortcuts

**Author:** Aidan Maurin-Jones


**Published:** 2025-09-14



**Tags:** Shortcuts, WebScraping


**Canonical:** https://blog.aidanmaurinjones.com/posts/automating-fire-ban-updates-with-shortcuts/


I built a Shortcut that makes it incredibly easy to check whether there’s currently a fire 
ban in Dysart et al. Instead of digging through a municipal website or scrolling a feed, I 
can now get a clean, glanceable update with one tap.

⸻

### How I Built It

The Shortcut pulls from this endpoint:

https://www.dysartetal.ca//modules/NewsModule/services/getalertbannerfeeds.ashx

That feed contains JSON data with alert banners, including fire ban notices. Here’s what 
happens step by step:
	
1.	Fetch the feed – Using “Get Contents of URL,” the Shortcut retrieves the raw JSON.
	
2.	Parse into a dictionary – I convert the response into a Dictionary so each item can be checked.
	
3.	Scan for fire ban notices – A “Match Text” action looks for the string Fire Ban. If 
there are matches, I know there’s an active ban.
	
4.	Extract title and description – I loop through the items, grab the title and 
description fields, and convert the HTML-rich text into plain strings.
	
5.	Build a styled HTML card – If a ban is active, the Shortcut injects the title and 
description into a block of HTML with big, bold text so it’s easy to read.
	
6.	Display the result – The HTML card is shown in a Safari-style web view. If no fire 
ban is in effect, I get a simple alert that says: “No Fire Ban Status currently available.”

⸻

### Why I Use It

Municipal websites aren’t always designed for quick updates, especially on a phone. With 
this Shortcut, I don’t have to waste time hunting for information—I get a direct answer in seconds.

It’s also a great example of how I like to use Shortcuts: not for giant, flashy automations, 
but for small, thoughtful utilities that make my day smoother.

⸻

### Customizing the Shortcut

Since the Shortcut outputs HTML, it’s easy to tweak the look:

- Change font sizes to make the text more readable.
- Add colors—red for “ban in effect,” green for “ban lifted.”
- Include extra fields from the feed if needed.

And because it’s all built with system actions, I can extend it further: send a push notification 
when a ban starts, or log changes to a running Notes document.

⸻

### Final Thoughts

This Shortcut takes raw municipal data and turns it into something useful that I can check 
at a glance. It removes friction, saves me time, and gives me peace of mind knowing I can 
always find out the current fire ban status instantly.


- [Fire Ban Status](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/32c07658e4f34b15b8d3bde1997d8e0f)




### Apps & Tools I Used to Create this Shortcut


  
  - [Inspect Browser](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/inspect-browser/id1203594958?uo=4)
  


  
  - [Jayson](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/jayson/id1447750768?uo=4)
  







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