‘It’s not just alerts, it’s a state of mind’: How a wildfire monitoring app became essential in the US west

Watch Duty - which began in California and has expanded across 14 states - alerted the public to more than 9,000 wildfires in 2024

Cristy Thomas began to panic as she called 911 for the second time on a warm October day but couldn't get through. She anxiously watched the plume of black smoke pouring over her rural community in central California get larger.

Then she heard a familiar ping.