Watch Duty, a Wildfire-Tracking App, Provides a Lifeline in Los Angeles

On her 67th birthday, Paulette Lifton woke up to smoke in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, prompting her to download the Watch Duty app for updates on the wildfires spreading near her home. The app, founded in 2021, has had 2 million downloads and 14 million users this week, providing live updates and evacuation zone delineations through a team of volunteers and employees. Despite some issues with the city’s alert system, Watch Duty has proven to be a reliable tool for tracking wildfires in Los Angeles and beyond.

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