“Interesting” app, until it becomes critical
In appreciation for the quality of this app AND its ongoing information — I am very pleased to be a subscriber at $25 per year. This app and content are worth supporting.
As a backcountry enthusiast living in Utah, I’m always mindful of where fires are burning, or others may ignite. I’ve struggled to find a good fire website or now app that covers the gamut of fires over the different layers and jurisdictions of fire reporting from a local municipality to inci reported fires.
This app is amazing.
You will be notified quickly when something heats up. You can choose to follow other fires outside your subscribed jurisdiction. Maybe there’s a fire near your friends house. You can follow just that one. If you are not a twitter user (as I am not), this app will link you to X post directly instead of being subjected to the platforms pleas for you to log in and become a member. Ditto for other social media.
As a vanlifer often in the backcountry, this app could save my life. This is the first app I can say that about.
As a backcountry enthusiast living in Utah, I’m always mindful of where fires are burning, or others may ignite. I’ve struggled to find a good fire website or now app that covers the gamut of fires over the different layers and jurisdictions of fire reporting from a local municipality to inci reported fires.
This app is amazing.
You will be notified quickly when something heats up. You can choose to follow other fires outside your subscribed jurisdiction. Maybe there’s a fire near your friends house. You can follow just that one. If you are not a twitter user (as I am not), this app will link you to X post directly instead of being subjected to the platforms pleas for you to log in and become a member. Ditto for other social media.
As a vanlifer often in the backcountry, this app could save my life. This is the first app I can say that about.
Show less
This app is an incredible help to the public
Recently heard of this App and downloaded it. A fast moving fire began in my vicinity just days after downloading it and I used it to network with a friend to pass information to a community who was needing to evacuate with limited communications because their power had been shut off. Because of this App, people were quickly notified who would not have been because they were away from their neighborhood and at work. Children were quickly removed out of harms way, as well as pets and livestock due to this App alerting me with an audible “heads up!” and in turn we networked quickly through a handful of people who were on it! Thank you so very much to all of you who run this App!!
Show less
BEST APP I’VE EVER MET!!
I’ve always struggled to easily find clear, up to date information about fires…only finding scraps of info scattered among different clunky websites. Watch Duty is incredible! Everything you need to know is right in the app and laid out in the most clear, elegant, and intuitive way. It’s even got air quality and live wind direction. And power outages(!) though just for California. I’m in S. Oregon and would love to have that feature. Watch Duty also functions beautifully—kudos to the writers/designers/coders!!! As a non-profit, there are no ads to bog it down. Everyone should be happy to donate or become a member.
Show less
Peace of mind
This app truly brought a sense of relief to my family during the Southfork Fire. To be able to see almost exactly where the line was and receive the updates and concerns in the area every few hours was unbelievable. I feel like this app helped to connect the community in a way that people didn’t expect. It also brought my 85 year old grandma a sense of relief and hope as our family vacation home of over 30 years was within a few feet of the flames. We lost my Grandpa last year and Ruidoso was one of his favorite places to be! My Grandma felt she was about to lose a part of him all over again. My heart aches for the family’s affected and those that lost their everything and even their lives. We count our blessings everyday and continue to keep those more severely affected in our thoughts. Strength be with those this has touched.
Show less
Outstanding fire and emergency Ap - free or buy 4 more features
I got trapped outside the Costco in the 2021 Marshall fire in Colorado. That was an impossible situation due to the sudden nature of the fire and 90mph winds. Zero access to emergency info. Since then, my point to people is stay connected to an immediate info source and be ready to leave immediately. Have an emergency radio that goes off at night for fire warnings. Especially if u r in the west - Don’t wait. Stay in one car w/loved ones, have smoke goggles in the car, pack four days of prescription in that car and two days of dry pet food - and plenty of eye wash. Then. Just. Go. This Ap captures all the info needed to keep informed w/out twitter or some helpful websites that lack alert functions. Download it now. Set up your 4 counties. Or buy the year subscription. (Unlimited counties). Profound thx to these developers.
Show less
Excellent
During the 2017 fires in Santa Rosa, I looked up information on multiple sites for my best guess for risks, wind direction, CalFire responses, & air quality. This app gives me access to all of that with regular updates and notifications.
Having gone through multiple evacuations in the past 7 years, I immediately recognized when the color of sunlight changed yesterday evening to sunlight filtered by wildfire smoke. My son recommended this app and it let me sleep soundly with the Point Fire slowly being brought under control.
This is the kind of volunteer community service that supercedes the support of our local services.
Great work, you guys.
Having gone through multiple evacuations in the past 7 years, I immediately recognized when the color of sunlight changed yesterday evening to sunlight filtered by wildfire smoke. My son recommended this app and it let me sleep soundly with the Point Fire slowly being brought under control.
This is the kind of volunteer community service that supercedes the support of our local services.
Great work, you guys.
Show less
Recent Fire in Redwood City
Hey WD Team,
Wanted to pass along some feedback… I work in Redwood City and we recently had a construction fire… Your product was great and delivered… Probably too good… local PD , Sheriff and Fire were not on the same page with respect to information timing and release… All normal in an active incident… Not sure if possible with your team but it be great to leverage some open source LLMs that can post to various municipal twitter feeds.. This would be in an effort to tie information together that your app seems process quickly… I know easier said than done and you are at the mercy of their social media teams… Anyway keep up the great work….
Joe
Wanted to pass along some feedback… I work in Redwood City and we recently had a construction fire… Your product was great and delivered… Probably too good… local PD , Sheriff and Fire were not on the same page with respect to information timing and release… All normal in an active incident… Not sure if possible with your team but it be great to leverage some open source LLMs that can post to various municipal twitter feeds.. This would be in an effort to tie information together that your app seems process quickly… I know easier said than done and you are at the mercy of their social media teams… Anyway keep up the great work….
Joe
Show less
Support This Excellent App!
This app provides accurate and important information about wildfires. It keeps track of all fires in your area (and elsewhere) along with evacuation notices, where a fire is in relation to you at your location, and any videos or updated reports from the various fire agencies (CalFIRE, USFS, Tribal OES, etc). It tells you when the info was last updated. And that’s just the free version. The paid version also provides all of the air activity including what kind of plane and what it’s used for (observation, water drops, etc), and their flight path. I was able to watch a plane circle an area in real time even before a fire there was reported. They are a non-profit and do a tremendous service. Please support them and keep this awesome app going!
Show less
Best app ever!
I’ve lived in the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface) for decades and fire has always been a worrisome threat. I’m familiar with and receive alerts from local and national sources (FEMA, NIFC, etc). I only found out about Watch Duty a few weeks ago, loved the format and constant updates. When I found out it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by volunteer firefighters. There’s a FREE version but I went ahead bought a PAID ($25/year) subscription to support them. I’ve also put my loved ones on my personal map so if someone is in danger I can also alert them. I sleep better knowing I have this app. THANK YOU, Watch Duty! 💕
Show less
Gray Road Fire, Medical Lake, WA
The Watch Duty app provided a lot of needed & helpful information, that was kept as updated as possible. The ‘LAYERS’ button on the app that provides satellite imagery & wind direction were especially helpful. While getting evacuation maps from local agencies, we found your maps to be MUCH easier to read & evaluate locations/roads. We were interested in seeing where the ACTUAL FIRE was & your maps, including the areas of “hot spots”, were just the information that we needed! Thank you for your VERY helpful app & the amount of peace of mind it provided!
Show less
