Watch Duty
{{Short description|Wildfire tracking app}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| logo = Watch Duty logo.svg
| type = 501(3)(c) non-profit
| founded = 2021
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|John Mills|David Merritt}}
| products =
| services = Wildfire alerts and maps
| website = {{URL|https://www.watchduty.org/}}
}}
Watch Duty is a volunteer-contributed mobile app and web platform that provides real-time wildfire information and alerts to the public. It utilizes a combination of official data sources and human monitoring by experienced volunteers, including active and retired firefighters, dispatchers, and first responders. The service is operated by Sherwood Forestry Service, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.{{Cite web |last=Fell |first=Nicole |date=2025-01-13 |title=How Watch Duty Became an Essential Resource for Angelenos During Wildfires: "We Get Love Letters" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/watch-duty-app-palisades-eaton-fire-1236107157/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}
History
Watch Duty was launched in August 2021 by John Mills, who experienced a wildfire shortly after he moved to Sonoma County, California. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) was unable to provide updates more than once a day due to time constraints, and residents of the area were unable to monitor the progression of the wildfire. Mills discovered that updates were being shared on social media by volunteers following radio scanners, and developed the Watch Duty app to make the information more readily available. It launched with a volunteer staff of "citizen information officers,"{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Adele |date=January 9, 2025 |title=How Watch Duty Became the Go-To App for People Fleeing the L.A. Fires |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/91257639/l-a-wildfire-tracking-app-watch-duty |access-date=January 15, 2025 |website=Fast Company}} initially serving Sonoma County before expanding to all of California in June 2022.{{cite magazine|title=A Crowdsourced Wildfire App Tracks All of California's Blazes|first=Boone|last=Ashworth|magazine=Wired|location=San Francisco|date=August 17, 2022|accessdate=January 15, 2025|url=https://www.wired.com/story/watch-duty-wildfire-tracking-app/}} {{As of|2024|12}}, the service covers 22 states west of the Mississippi River.{{cite web|title=What states and counties do you cover?|work=Watch Duty Help Center|publisher=Sherwood Forestry Service|location=Santa Rosa, California|date=January 5, 2025|accessdate=January 15, 2025|url=https://support.watchduty.org/hc/en-us/articles/15246288300813-What-states-and-counties-do-you-cover}} During the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, Watch Duty was downloaded millions of times, ranking among the most popular free downloads on the iOS App Store.{{cite news|title=Watch Duty, a Wildfire-Tracking App, Provides a Lifeline in Los Angeles|first1=Eli|last1=Tan|first2=Ryan|last2=Mac|work=The New York Times|date=January 11, 2025|accessdate=January 18, 2025|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/us/watch-duty-wildfire-app.html}}
Content
The application is centered around an interactive map based on OpenStreetMap data with a variety of overlays visualizing fire risk, active fires and evacuation zones, weather conditions, and air quality observations. Watch Duty sources wildfire information from radio scanner transmissions, firefighters, sheriffs, and CAL FIRE publications. It has policies against the publication of personally identifiable information, such as the names of fire victims.{{cite web |title=Watch Duty Code of Conduct |url=https://www.watchduty.org/how-it-works/code-of-conduct |website=www.watchduty.org |access-date=16 January 2025 |language=en}} Watch Duty is free to use, doesn't require users to sign up, and it doesn't display ads.{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/11/24340913/watch-duty-wildfire-tracking-app-los-angeles-nonprofit |title= How Watch Duty’s wildfire tracking app became a crucial lifeline for LA |last=Bassett |first=Abigail |date=January 11, 2025 |access-date=February 1, 2025 |publisher=The Verge}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.watchduty.org/}}
{{Volunteered geographic information}}
Category:Android (operating system) software
Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States
Category:Emergency management software
Category:Disaster preparedness in the United States
Category:Wildfires in the United States