“Beyond Notifications: The Transformative Power of a Wildfire Monitoring App in the Western U.S.”

Cristy Thomas felt the onset of panic as she dialed 911 for the second instance on a warm October afternoon but was unable to connect. She nervously observed the rising column of dark smoke engulfing her rural neighborhood in central California.

Then she heard a recognizable notification sound.

Watch Duty, an application that notifies users of wildfire hazards and supplies vital information about fires as they develop, had already noted the incident. She felt a wave of relief. Help was on the way.

“I can’t express how relieved I was,” she recounted, remembering how shortly thereafter alarms echoed through the community and helicopters soared above. “We were witnessing it unfold and had questions – but Watch Duty provided all the answers.”

Thomas stands among millions of Watch Duty advocates who have contributed to the rapid ascendance of the app. In merely three years since its inception, the organization now counts up to 7.2 million users and peaks at around 512 million page views during critical moments. For a non-profit primarily operated by volunteers, these figures are remarkable, even by startup benchmarks. However, they are not unexpected.

Watch Duty has transformed the way of life for individuals in areas susceptible to fires. Users no longer need to scramble for details when the skies darken and ash fills the atmosphere; they can depend on the app for swift and precise information – and it is free.

It provides critical information on where threats exist, featuring maps of fire boundaries, evacuation zones, and recommended locations for refuge. Users can access wildfire camera feeds, monitor aircraft locations, and view wind conditions all within a single platform. The app also assists in identifying times of calm, when dangers have lessened, and which organizations are actively engaged.

“The app is not solely about notifications; it’s about a mindset,” stated Watch Duty’s CEO, John Mills. The Silicon Valley veteran established the organization after relocating from San Francisco to an extensive ranch in Sonoma County, where fire risks are significant. Initially covering only four California counties, Watch Duty expanded statewide within its first year and swiftly branched out across the western United States and into Hawaii.

As the community has developed – reaching individuals across 14 states by 2024 – new features and improved accuracy have bolstered its appeal, and according to Mills, have satisfied unmet demands.

In recent years, it hasn’t just been local residents depending on the app. A variety of emergency responders, from firefighters to municipal leaders to reporters, are also engaging, making sure that key players share the same information.

“People frequently thank me for Watch Duty, and I respond, ‘you’re welcome – but I regret that you need it,’” Mills mentioned. Yet it is evident that the necessity is genuine. In every new region where they have provided the service, word-of-mouth has propelled usage.

“We did not invest any funds in marketing whatsoever,” Mills remarked. “We simply allowed the genie out of the bottle, so the world understood things could never revert to the previous state.”

The app emerged from an emergency information network on social platforms that has, for years, disseminated unofficial information. However, unlike other mediums striving to capture user attention and maintain it, Watch Duty operates without algorithms that obscure or distort essential information.

It relies on volunteers known as “reporters” who monitor emergency broadcasts in the persistent hum of radio noise, evaluate data obtained from the National Weather Service and additional sources, and confer with each other before dispatching notifications to their active user community.

Managed by actual individuals, comprising both current and former wildland firefighters, dispatch operators, and seasoned storm watchers, the team collaborates to swiftly collect and authenticate data when a fire breaks out.

An automated system issues 911 alerts through Slack, prompting Watch Duty reporters in the designated region to spring into action. Radio scanners, wildfire cameras, satellites, and official announcements are scrutinized for information. Once conditions are verified, they disseminate the updates, additionally sending a notification to users in the vicinity if there is a risk to life or property.

The network comprises hundreds of individuals volunteering their time alongside a small workforce of just 15 reporters and engineers. Collectively, they have alerted the public to over 9,000 wildfires this year.

Meanwhile, support has been substantial. This year, Watch Duty secured $5.6 million in funding from grants, private contributors, and a new professional subscription model that provides paying users with insights into aspects such as where electric and gas transmission lines intersect with fire areas, lands managed by utilities and private owners, as well as the areas of agency responsibility – plus a search tool for historical and inactive fires.

However, this is merely the beginning, according to Mills.

“I didn’t label this ‘Fire Duty’ intentionally,” he remarked, indicating the initiative to start covering additional hazards in the upcoming future, such as flooding and severe weather occurrences.

As the climatic emergency escalates the severity of storms, the model has also highlighted the vital function critical data can play in assisting vulnerable communities to adjust. Besides empowering inhabitants during moments of disorder, the application has sparked discussions at the highest tiers of government regarding communication deficits and obstacles during crises.

Watch Duty was among a limited number of companies invited to participate in a White House roundtable on fire this year, a significant progression from the initial resistance they faced from local authorities post-launch, who feared that information on the platform might trigger panic or disseminate misinformation.

“No one granted us permission to pursue this,” Mills stated. “It was [developed] from the grassroots – from the depths of the woods to the White House.” Other organizations have also been leveraging their offerings, drawn by the comprehensive source of user-friendly intelligence.

The Idaho Department of Lands utilizes a real-time feed from Watch Duty on their own website. When he first unveiled the app, Mills expressed to the Guardian his aspiration for the initially small team to become “so crucial, so vocal, and so disruptive that we can’t be overlooked.” Currently, he’s collaborating directly with wildfire managers, incident response teams, and agencies such as California State Parks.

Yet, the most significant contributors propelling Watch Duty’s progress are individuals like Cristy Thomson, who rely on the app to maneuver through the turmoil resulting from devastating fires. The inferno that ignited near her residence last October was not the first.

Thompson was among the thousands impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex fire, which ravaged over 80,000 acres across the Santa Cruz Mountains, destroying 1,490 homes and other structures and claiming a life.

Her dwelling was unharmed. However, during emergencies, she assists in evacuating horses and other animals, an endeavor that introduces additional chaos and the necessity for coordination. She stated that prior to Watch Duty, challenges were significantly greater.

Ambiguity and disorder among residents have frequently culminated in despair for the equine community that rushes in when disasters strike, she noted. Chaotic evacuations can result in more animals being left behind.

“It was such a relief knowing we weren’t the sole individuals on this planet who were aware of the fire up there,” she mentioned. “We knew they were deploying all resources available.”

This is why she appreciates the admittedly “disruptive” alert when it sounds on her mobile device. She feels thankful to the volunteers who monitor and the dependable information they offer and hopes even more individuals will have Watch Duty notifications chiming in their pockets in the upcoming years. The application has been “vitally beneficial on two occasions,” she asserted.

“The main advantage is that you know you can rely on it,” she added. “That’s its worth.”