Watch Duty becomes vital source of information for those battling LA wildfires

Watch Duty, a fire tracking app, is giving LA residents crucial information about the conditions in their area amid the incessant wildfires.

Wildfires have been ravaging the Los Angeles area, leaving thousands displaced and homes burned to the ground.

It has been reported that an estimated 12,000 homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings have been either damaged or completely destroyed.

At least 24 people have been killed and approximately 150,000 people were warned to evacuate or forced out of their homes.

In times of crisis, concise and accurate information is needed to ensure that residents of the Los Angeles area can keep up to date with the situation at hand.

A non-profit organization made up of former and active first responders, firefighters, and dispatchers has created a platform called Watch Duty.

Watch Duty is a non-profit, nonpartisan, and non-governmental organization focused on releasing life-saving public safety information in real-time.

Volunteers, alongside active and former public service people, monitor radio scanners and other reliable sources of information to keep residents informed.

In an interview with The New York Times, Watch Duty’s CEO, John Mills, said that its app had been downloaded two million times in the last week and seen roughly 14 million unique users.

The app, which can be downloaded via Google Play or the App Store, seems to be only available to users in the United States.

However, Watch Duty can be used on a desktop so that anyone can monitor the state of wildfires in the US.

How does Watch Duty work?

According to Watch Duty’s website, the team gathers information from official sources and “distills just the facts.”

Then, if the wildfire or natural event shows any threat to life or property, Watch Duty will send out a notification via the app.

Watch Duty’s automated monitoring system will even pick up 911 calls regarding wildfires – the Watch Duty team is then informed of the fires via Slack.

Once alerted, the team springs into action and starts investigating various sources of information, such as radio scanners, wildfire cameras, satellites, and other public sources.

This information needs to be vetted, as inaccurate information could mean life or death. So, the team works to verify the accuracy of the information and waits for on-scene personnel to relay information about the area.

The team will report and monitor the conditions continuously and will update the public with further information. Watch Duty will also tell you if a fire has been extinguished or is no longer a threat to life or property.

What information does Watch Duty share?

The team at Watch Duty provides many different kinds of life-saving information, such as where the fire is spreading, whether it has been contained and whether it has contaminated the water supply.

For example, additional information about the Palisades Fire indicates that residents shouldn’t drink the water, as the LADWP issued a ‘do not drink’ warning.

Further information, such as Airbnb providing free housing and Lyft or Uber discount codes, will also help those who have been displaced by the wildfires.

Alongside evacuation information, there are also addresses and shelters that people can visit if their homes have been damaged or if they are told to evacuate.

Statistics, including how many acres the fire has traveled, how well it is being contained, and whether the fire is active or inactive, are shared with the public via Watch Duty.

At the time of this writing, the Palisades Fire had burned around 24,000 acres, was only 13% contained, and was considered an active fire.