Watch Duty: Wildfire & Floods
Description
Watch Duty is the only disaster mapping and alert app powered by real people giving you real-time information on wildfires and floods vetted by trained professionals, not robots or AI. While many other apps rely solely on government alerts, which can often be delayed, Watch Duty provides up-to-the-minute, life-saving information through a dedicated team of active and retired firefighters, dispatchers, first responders, and reporters who monitor radio scanners around the clock. We aim to keep you informed and safe with real-time updates and alerts. Disaster Tracking Features: - Push notifications about nearby safety impacting floods, wildfires, and firefighting or emergency response efforts - Real-time updates as conditions change - Evacuation orders & shelter information - Active fire perimeters and progress - Flash flood warnings and threat levels - Current and projected river gauge flooding levels - Infrared satellite hotspots from VIIRS and MODIS - Wind speed and direction - Power outage size and estimated resolution time - Historical wildfire perimeters - Air quality readings - Street and satellite maps - Air attack and air tanker flight tracker - Save locations for quick access on the map Watch Duty is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our service will always remain free of charge and free of ads. You can support our mission with a $25/year membership, which grants access to special features as a token of our appreciation. Disclaimer: Watch Duty is not affiliated with any government agency. The information provided in this app is sourced from publicly available and trusted sources, including but not limited to government agencies, radio transmissions, and satellite data. Specific government sources include: - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: https://www.noaa.gov/ - VIIRS: https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/instruments/viirs - MODIS: https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov - National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC): https://www.nifc.gov - California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE): https://www.fire.ca.gov - California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES): https://www.caloes.ca.gov - National Weather Service (NWS): https://www.weather.gov/ - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): https://www.epa.gov/ - Bureau of Land Management: https://www.blm.gov/ - Department of Defense: https://www.defense.gov/ - National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/ - US Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/ - US Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/ For more information or support, feel free to contact us at support.watchduty.org. Privacy Policy: https://www.watchduty.org/legal/privacy-policy
What's New
This release includes various improvements and fixes.
Details
- Developer
- Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc.
- Main Category
- News
- Version
- 2026.6.2
- Version Release
- 2026-06-05
- Initial Release
- 2021-08-10
- Size
- 74 MB
- Age Rating
- 4+
- Price
- Free
- Languages
- EN, ZH, ES, TL, VI
- Bundle ID
- org.watchduty.app
- Version Rating
- ★ 4.93 (39,499)
- First Seen
- 2026-05-28
Metadata updated 2026-06-13
Rank History
Free · Max 90 days · Top 5 categories shown (Y-axis: rank, lower is better)
Free Rankings
Paid Rankings
No rankings
Competitive Benchmark — News Top 10
What it takes to beat this app — comparison with the category's top apps. The orange row is the current app.
| # | App | Price | Rating | Ratings | Langs | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X | Free | ★ 4.59 | 10,776,328 | 41 | 2026-06-11 |
| 2 | Free | ★ 4.76 | 3,435,219 | 32 | 2026-06-08 | |
| 3 | CrimeRadar Dispatch Audio | Free | ★ 4.89 | 24,114 | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| 4 | Substack | Free | ★ 4.87 | 468,138 | 15 | 2026-06-09 |
| 5 | Nextdoor: Neighborhood Network | Free | ★ 4.71 | 2,089,373 | 9 | 2026-06-10 |
| 6 | NewsBreak: Local News & Alerts | Free | ★ 4.78 | 1,361,683 | 2 | 2026-06-11 |
| 7 | Citizen: Safety & Live Video | Free | ★ 4.73 | 504,806 | 0 | 2026-06-10 |
| 8 | Ground News | Free | ★ 4.72 | 44,105 | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| 9 | Police Scanner Radio & Fire | Free | ★ 4.64 | 521,589 | 1 | 2026-06-04 |
| 10 | Watch Duty: Wildfire & Floods | Free | ★ 4.93 | 39,499 | 5 | 2026-06-05 |
User Reviews
Watch Duty is using Silicon Valley capital and a hand-picked board of emergency officials to privatize the distribution of public crisis data—turning what should be a transparent public service into a gatekept, state-sanctioned app monopoly.
It would be nice if this app could also cover earthquakes and tsunami’s. Great app though! Thank you for keeping us updated!
My son is a Hotshot. Watch Duty helps me monitor fires that he is deployed to. The information is accurate, timely, and it helps me feel connected. I really appreciate this app so I subscribed to support this work.
I live near Camp Pendleton in Southern California and fires are a part of life. It’s so helpful to have accurate, real time information about fires near me. Thank you!!
Please include the ability to receive notifications for X miles within a location. I don’t need notifications for a fire on the other side of my county. This would also reduce notification fatigue and cause the notifications that do come through to be more meaningful and less likely to be ignored.
This app is literally a life saver. We almost lost our house in Witchcreek Fire. This app would have been so helpful.
I like the fact that I can stay on top of where the fires are spreading and or contained.
I have been using Watch Duty since the beginning and signed up to support financially the second it was available. I have relatives and close friends who live in fire-prone areas. Alerts help me keep informed and help me plan if I have to drop what I’m doing and go help. If you have any connection with a fire-prone areas, Watch Duty is a required app for your device.
Every time I hear a siren you'll find me grabbing for this app. Same during storms, power outages, fires. I have a severely disabled son who is terrified whenever the power fails. I can pull up the app to show him that people know about it and that they are working on it...
I love this app. It keeps me well informed of any danger and also keep me informed if any of my family members or my friends are in danger or need help moving. Especially, in California… This is a great app to have.
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