Los Angeles residents turn to Watch Duty app for rapid wildfire updates

Los Angeles residents are turning to a free nonprofit-run app to help them navigate the catastrophic fires ravaging the area. 

Watch Duty, which launched in 2021 and is now in 22 states, provides live updates to users about nearby wildfires and firefighting efforts. The app is powered by a team of volunteers and staff — active and retired firefighters, dispatchers and veteran storm watchers, according to its website.

Throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday, many Angelenos circulated screenshots of the app across social media, encouraging others to download it and calling it a lifeline amid rapidly changing weather conditions.

The Los Angeles fires, sparked by a combination of dry conditions and powerful winds, are having a huge effect far beyond the danger zones. As of Wednesday morning, at least two people had been killed, with fast–moving fires continuing to engulf the area. The fires have prompted mandatory evacuations of more than 80,000 people.

Watch Duty is currently No. 1 on Apple’s App Store, topping ChatGPT, Lemon8 and Threads. More than half a million people have downloaded the app in the past 12 hours, Nick Russell, the app’s vice president of operations, told NBC News on Wednesday.

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Watch Duty has emerged as a critical platform for sharing factual information during wildfires. In recent years, social media-fueled conspiracy theories have become commonplace during natural disasters, with many sharing misinformation and outlandish claims about the origins of such weather-related events.

Russell said his team relies on validating and vetting information, a process “that’s made stronger by partnerships that we have with agencies throughout our 22 states of coverage area, not just California.”

“One of the big things for us, our big theme, is quality over quantity. We’re not in a big hurry to get information that we’re going to have to go and retract later,” he said. “And so if it takes a few extra minutes to get it out there, that’s fine, but we want it to be that official info; and because we built a one-way communication platform, we don’t offer that venue for people to circulate nonsense … And so it really puts the ball in our court for good information”

The team at Watch Duty is typically comprised of more than 200 people who work throughout the day to monitor any potential fires.

Russell said they use the messaging system Slack, which sends the team automated leads “from a plethora of sources, and our team disseminates those and validates them.”

If something strikes them as serious, they’ll begin to monitor it.

Russell compared Watch Duty’s process to sports reporting.

“We will send an alert out at a county level to our users in that area, and we will tell a storyline of events, much like sports reporting, from the start of ignition until the last engine leaves,” he said.

While the app isn’t new, its popularity has increased in recent years as climate-related weather events continue to impact communities. In December, the app said it increased its yearly active users to 7.2 million from 1.9 million in 2023.

Among the many users are first responders, including the Los Angeles County sheriff, the Butte County sheriff and the Office of Emergency Management, according to Watch Duty. Tanker pilots, dozer operators and firefighters who are out on the front lines also use the app.

The app’s interface is a map with flame icons shown in regions where fires are blazing. Users can zoom in on certain areas — as well as see their precise location — and see the latest updates. The map also offers a street, satellite or topographic video of the map.

Users can also access information on evacuation routes and any official evacuation orders. Images and official posts from government organizations are also shared, depending upon which fire a person is looking at.

Russell said he thinks people are drawn to Watch Duty because it is a one-stop shop for all the information people need during a fire emergency, rather than having to check several different sources and social media pages.

He also said he believes accessibility is another main reason why many people are gravitating toward the app.

The app doesn’t collect or sell user data, and relies on donations and subscriptions to the enhanced version of the app to stay up and running.

“I think it’s really important in today’s world, where so many people are trying to profit off disaster, to really understand that that’s not what Watch Duty is,” Russell said, adding that “Watch Duty will remain free forever.”

This year, Watch Duty received $5.6 million in funding from a variety of sources, including grants and individual donors, Russell said.

“The people who have chosen a life of service need our help and it is now our mission to serve them,” the app stated in its 2024 annual report.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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