Watch Duty, a free cellphone app used by millions to track wildfires, is expanding to support flood monitoring. Launched for fire incident awareness, the app helps people follow where fires are burning and assess risks during emergencies. Several reports describe how it has been relied on during the 2025 Los Angeles-area fires, when users used the app to decide whether to stay put or evacuate as conditions changed. In the new phase of the expansion, Watch Duty adds flood-related functionality intended to provide similar situational awareness for dangerous flooding events. The coverage frames the move as a response to the broader range of hazards affecting communities, including major storm-driven flooding. One report includes an account from Altadena, California, where a nearby fire prompted urgent decisions for residents in January 2025, illustrating the kind of real-time risk information the app is designed to deliver. While the new flood monitoring features are the focus of the expansion, all sources emphasize that Watch Duty’s goal remains consistent: giving users accessible, timely updates during emergencies so they can better understand local conditions and make safety decisions.
Watch Duty expands from fire tracking to help monitor dangerous floods
Watch Duty, a free cellphone app used by millions to track wildfires, is expanding to support flood monitoring. Launched for fire incident awareness, the app helps people follow where fires are burnin...
- Watch Duty is a free cellphone app that provides real-time tracking for emergencies.
- The app is widely used and was relied on by many users during the 2025 Los Angeles-area fires.
- Watch Duty is expanding its capabilities beyond wildfires to include flood monitoring.
- The expansion aims to help users assess local risk and make evacuation or safety decisions during fast-changing events.
When a fire broke out a few miles from his Altadena, California, home the evening of Jan. 7, 2025, Matt Blea and his family needed to make a crucial decision: Should they stay home, or evacuate?
17 hours agoWatch Duty, a free cellphone app that tracks fires, became a vital tool for millions during the 2025 LA fires
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