About Our Non-Profit

We have stood in fire, battled it side-by-side with our neighbors, and witnessed our friends and family lose everything.  This destruction only seems to intensify over the years with no sign of easing up.  As citizens, we are not prepared for the size and frequency of natural disasters we are experiencing, nor are we armed with the critical information necessary to make life-saving decisions when minutes count.

Everyone deserves to be informed about life-threatening disasters in real-time with enough information to take action.   More information and time allow us to think clearly and prepare in an orderly way without panic.  

We built Watch Duty because we had to.  Many of our founding team members have lived in the wildlands with the threat of fire their whole lives but many of us are new here.   What we had in common was a thirst for information and the ability to operate radios, write software, and build companies.  As a group, we decided to fight back the only way we know how: with information and transparency.

Our team includes skilled radio operators, firefighters, and engineers. When a wildfire ignites we are automatically notified and start gathering information from a wide variety of public sources including local, state, and federal fire frequencies, satellite and infrared flight data, fixed and aerial imagery, and more. We then validate, organize, and share that information as quickly as possible, in one place, so you can focus on staying safe, keeping neighbors, friends, and family informed – and taking action when necessary.  Our mission is to show you just what you need, as early as possible, so you don’t have to spend precious moments searching for it.

In doing so, we take great caution with the trust you have bestowed upon us.  Not only do we have a strict code of conduct that all reporters must adhere to, but we have also incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is apolitical, and not controlled by any corporate or government entity. We are building the free, open, and un-editorialized emergency alert system that everyone affected by disaster deserves. By the people and for the people.