Watch Duty Expands Nationwide to Deliver Real-Time Wildfire Alerts to All 50 States
TECHNOLOGY
Watch Duty announced its expansion from 22 states to nationwide coverage, ensuring that every community now has access to verified, real-time wildfire information.
Wildfire risk is no longer confined to a few western states. With nearly one in three Americans now living in an area threatened by fire and millions more affected by drifting smoke, access to timely, trusted emergency information is a matter of life and death.
Watch Duty, the nonprofit organization that has become one of the most trusted voices in public safety, today announced a massive expansion: from serving just 22 states, the service is now available with nationwide coverage, ensuring every community in the U.S. has access to verified, real-time wildfire alerts when they matter most.
Human Expertise Meets Technological Speed
The fundamental problem with disaster information is speed and fragmentation. Critical data often exists in systems designed for internal use, not for public communication, meaning life-saving information reaches residents too slowly or inconsistently to act on.
Watch Duty was founded on the necessity of solving this gap. As CEO and Co-Founder John Clarke Mills notes, the need for the app became intensely personal: "This nationwide expansion ensures no one faces disaster in the dark, like I was in 2021 when I founded Watch Duty."
The platform successfully closes that gap by taking in, verifying, and translating fragmented first responder information in real-time into plain-language, map-based updates that people can act on immediately. During the 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles County, Watch Duty became an essential lifeline, used by over eight million people in a single week and even displayed in the city's Emergency Operations Center as a primary live intelligence feed.
More Than Just Fire Alerts
While the core focus is wildfire alerts, the free, ad-free app also provides comprehensive environmental intelligence:
Air Quality Index (AQI)
Wind Direction
Red-Flag Warnings
For those who require deeper intelligence, the app offers a suite of advanced professional-grade features, including enhanced mapping, aircraft tracking, satellite detections, and utility overlays, at a fraction of the cost of traditional commercial platforms.
Building a Safer America
The nationwide expansion is critical as the threat from wildfires continues to grow, with research estimating that smoke contributes to over 40,000 premature deaths in the U.S. each year. By building a network that combines human expertise and advanced technology, Watch Duty is scaling a service that is essential for a safer America.
The organization calls on users to help support this free public service by downloading the app (available on the App Store or Google Play), telling friends and family about the service, and considering donations or volunteer efforts.
Watch Duty’s mission is clear: to humanize and accelerate emergency information, delivering clarity in the chaos so every person has the information needed to protect their lives and property.