Los Angeles residents turn to the Watch Duty app for quick wildfire updates

Watch Duty has emerged as a critical platform to share factual information during wildfires. In recent years, conspiracy theories fueled by social media have become common 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 verifying information, a process “made stronger by partnerships that we have with agencies throughout our 22 coverage area, not just California.”

“One of the big things for us, our big theme, is quality over quantity. We are not in a big hurry to get information that we will have to go and withdraw 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 the official info; and because we built a one-way communication platform, we don’t offer that place where people can circulate nonsense… And so that really puts the ball in our court for good information”

The team at Watch Duty typically consists of more than 200 people who work around the clock to monitor any potential fires.

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

If something strikes them as serious, they will start monitoring it.

Russell compared Watch Duty’s process to sports reporting.

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

Although the app is not new, its popularity has increased in recent years as climate-related weather events continue to affect communities. In December said the app it increased its annual 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 frontline firefighters also use the app.

The app’s interface is a map with flame icons displayed in areas where fires are burning. Users can zoom in on specific areas – as well as see their exact location – and see the latest updates. The map also offers a street, satellite or topographical video of the map.

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