Millions of Californians Are Relying on Watch Duty App for Real-Time Fire Information

Mar. 15, 2025

The Palisades fire burns near homes on Jan. 7.Photo:Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/ Los Angeles Daily News via Getty

Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/ Los Angeles Daily News via Getty

As thefires continue to burn in Los Angeles, one nonprofit is making a difference in the lives of those who live there.

Watch Duty, a free app founded in 2021, has become a lifesaving link for residents, offering the latest information, including maps of the fires and evacuation routes, according toThe New York Times.

The app relies on a team of 200 volunteers as well as 15 full-time employees to relay real-time information about the fires. The Watch Duty team listens to radio broadcasts from emergency transponders and then transmits the updates live to the app.

Since Tuesday, Jan. 7, the day the fires first broke out across the region, the app has been downloaded 2 million times and it has garnered 14 million unique users, theTimesreported.

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Watch Duty also provides air quality alerts and wind direction information — all of which wasn’t available when co-founder John Mills established the app four years ago, according toThe Verge.

When Mills’ Sonoma County home was at risk during the Walbridge fire in 2020, he realized there wasn’t a place to go to get information about the emergency. Mills and friend David Merritt then decided to build the app to help, the outlet reported.

“This is my life and my community,” Mills told theTimesin an interview. “I owe it to my community to not be a disaster capitalist.”

On Sunday, Jan. 12, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that the death toll has increased to 24 people from the previously established 16.

At least 16 people have been reported missing, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.

source: people.com