This Is the Best App for Tracking Wildfires

Stay informed during severe weather and natural disasters with Watch Duty, a reliable source for real-time wildfire information. Crucial for those affected by wildfires in California and other western states, Watch Duty provides up-to-the-minute updates on conditions.

Watch Duty aggregates data from 911 dispatch, government agencies, and a network of volunteers. These volunteers, including current and former firefighters, dispatchers, first responders, and journalists, monitor activity using radio scanners, wildfire cameras, satellite data, and official reports. They meticulously verify information before sharing it publicly, ensuring accuracy and mitigating the spread of misinformation often found on social media. This rigorous fact-checking process sets Watch Duty apart.

Watch Duty's strength lies in its comprehensive, reliable, and real-time data. It surpasses individual agencies like CalFire in the breadth of its official sources.

Using Watch Duty:

The app (available for iOS, Android, and web browsers) offers a user-friendly interface. View the fire map or search by incident, address, or location. Clicking a fire icon reveals detailed incident information, including verified updates, evacuation orders, and shelter locations for both people and animals. Enable notifications for timely alerts and browse the news feed for photos, weather/air quality reports, road closures, and fire-fighting progress updates.

Watch Duty covers 22 states across the western and midwestern U.S., including Hawaii. Core features, including fire monitoring and evacuation orders, are free to access without account registration. Paid memberships offer enhanced features such as fire-fighting flight tracking and more detailed data. However, essential wildfire information remains freely available to all users.

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