Wildfire Alerts app brings real-time wildfire information to all US states

Nationwide Wildfire Alerts reach every US state

Watch Duty has expanded its Wildfire Alerts platform from 22 US states to nationwide coverage, providing verified real-time wildfire information to communities across the country from 1 December 2025.

The nonprofit organisation said it launched just four years ago to serve a small number of counties in California and has since built a wider presence in public safety.

According to Watch Duty, its core public service focuses on actionable wildfire updates and also includes air quality index readings, wind direction information and red-flag warnings delivered through the Watch Duty app.

The organisation stated that these core services remain free, ad-free and open to all users.

Alongside the free offer, Watch Duty has developed subscription-based tools that provide deeper operational detail for users who need enhanced intelligence.

These tools include advanced mapping, extended weather information, aircraft tracking, utility infrastructure overlays and satellite-based detections, which the organisation positions as a professional-grade feature set at lower cost than traditional commercial platforms.

John Clarke Mills, Co-Founder and CEO of Watch Duty, said: “We’re transforming how disaster information is shared by putting people, not profit, at the center.

“This nationwide expansion ensures no one faces disaster in the dark, like I was in 2021 when I founded Watch Duty.

“By bringing first responders and technologists together, we’re solving long-standing problems in public safety and we’re doing it better, faster, and together.”

Platform functions and wildfire risk context

Watch Duty stated that wildfire is no longer confined to local fire seasons or narrow geographic areas.

The organisation reported that nearly one in three people in the US now lives in an area that faces elevated wildfire risk and that smoke from distant fires can affect people far beyond the fire perimeter.

It highlighted research reported by The Washington Post which estimates that wildfire smoke contributes to more than 40,000 premature deaths in the US each year.

According to Watch Duty, these health impacts make wildfire smoke one of the most serious environmental hazards facing the country.

The organisation argued that, despite the availability of detection technology and suppression resources, critical data about fast-moving incidents often reaches the public slowly or in uneven ways.

It said that many warning signals sit inside fragmented systems that were not designed to share information directly with the public.

Watch Duty stated that its service is designed to close this gap by collecting, verifying and translating complex information streams in real time.

The platform then presents this information as plain-language, map-based updates so that users can understand changing conditions and act more quickly.

Recent wildfire use and role in operations centres

Watch Duty reported that its service was heavily used during the 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles County in California.

According to the organisation, more than 8,000,000 people used the platform in a single week during that period.

The company said its live feed was displayed inside the Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center as a primary source of ongoing intelligence.

Watch Duty stated that this operational use case demonstrates how its service can support both the public and decision-makers during active wildfire events.

With the shift to nationwide coverage, the organisation said it is aiming to build a system where verified updates can move at the same speed as emergencies in any US state.

It added that the goal is to give every user information that can help them protect people, property and other assets that matter to them.

To support its work, Watch Duty invited users to download the app for free through the App Store or Google Play, to share it with friends and family and to consider donating, partnering or volunteering.

Operational value of nationwide wildfire intelligence

Fire and rescue chiefs and senior officers can use information from Watch Duty’s nationwide rollout to assess how public alerting tools may support situational awareness during fast-moving wildfire incidents.

Emergency and disaster response managers may examine how map-based wildfire information, air quality index data and weather details from a single national platform could feed into control rooms and operations centres.

Government departments with responsibility for public alerting and warning systems could evaluate whether the reported use of Watch Duty as a live intelligence feed in the Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center offers a model for closer collaboration with nonprofit data providers.

Risk assessors and fire engineering consultants may consider how estimates reported by The Washington Post on wildfire smoke-related premature deaths interact with existing health risk frameworks and long-term planning.

Facility managers across industrial, commercial and public sectors can review whether nationwide access to consistent wildfire information and smoke impacts may support continuity planning, evacuation decisions and air handling strategies for their sites.