The CEO of Watch Duty used his skills as a software engineer to build the app to amplify fire safety information as a public service: “Techies are obsessed with going to Mars and inventing an AGI robot to do art. But I’m obsessed with time and life.” sfstandard.com/2025/01/09/w... - ThreadSky

lainna.bsky.social • 44 days ago

The CEO of Watch Duty used his skills as a software engineer to build the app to amplify fire safety information as a public service: “Techies are obsessed with going to Mars and inventing an AGI robot to do art. But I’m obsessed with time and life.” https://sfstandard.com/2025/01/09/wildfires-watch-duty-elon-musk-los-angeles/

Comments

coffeenfingernails.bsky.social•44 days ago

📌

karenmhj.bsky.social•42 days ago

Side issue:

why tf would anyone want art compiled by robots?

sharpesword.bsky.social•42 days ago

FYI, if you visit beautiful British Columbia, the BC Wildfire Service has a similar app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.bc.gov.WildfireInformation&hl=en-CA

matchingpegs.bsky.social•42 days ago

We have a similar app made by our state government in Victoria, Australia. 🇦🇺 It shows more than fire, we get alerts about all kinds of hazards.

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/vicemergency/id356559665

sircoach.bsky.social•44 days ago

📌

ifyousayso.bsky.social•44 days ago

I don't know what I would have done without Watch Duty last summer when the Park Fire was raging only a few miles from my house. Being able to see our evac zone in relation to the fire, getting concise updates we knew we could trust ... cannot overstate how both reassuring and motivating that was.

ifyousayso.bsky.social•44 days ago

And a small but ultimately very important thing - the Watch Duty notif sound is so distinctive that everybody understands if it goes off and you check your phone in the middle of a meeting. Because everybody knows it could actually be your house, your pets, or your loved ones you're checking on.

rebellawyer.bsky.social•44 days ago

Everyone I know in LA area has been glued to this app the last several days - it's been everything. It's been more reliable than anything else out there, making us aware of new flare ups within minutes of them starting.

We all owe this guy immensely.

brendanregs.bsky.social•44 days ago

Hell yeah! What a quote

wayward-artist.bsky.social•44 days ago

2023 Number of U.S. wildfires: 56,580. Acres burned: 2,693,910. 🔥2022 Number of wildfires: 68,988. Acres burned: 7,577,183.🔥 2022 Alaska #1 most acres burned. Texas #1 for # of wildfires. 8 of top 10 states with most wildfires were Red & 6 of top 10 for acres burned, Red. #Fdjt

odetteroulette.bsky.social•43 days ago

I have this app. It's very useful.

jackie3sauce.bsky.social•44 days ago

Downloaded the app and wow. This is great.

Seems like this is poised to be the Wikipedia of emergency information.

wadewarrens.bsky.social•44 days ago

I’ve worked as a programmer for a public safety org, and my job satisfaction was an order of magnitude higher than my previous work in finance IT.

hannahburner.bsky.social•44 days ago

📌

amandakhurley.bsky.social•44 days ago

If only a fraction of the time and money spent on getting to Mars, automating basic tasks, etc., were channeled into pro-social projects like Watch Duty

gille5000.bsky.social•44 days ago

Thank you. My daughter lives near LA so sending her this in case she doesn't already have it

kathiemcmcclure.bsky.social•44 days ago

My son and daughter-in-law live in the heart of DTLA and, despite living in a steel and concrete jungle, they told me last night that they have been using Watch Duty heavily. It was a godsend when they received an erroneous Evacuation Warning yesterday afternoon. Hope your daughter remains safe.

purplejane252.bsky.social•43 days ago

Mills is doing the Lord’s work, and I’m not even religious

jenschuld.bsky.social•44 days ago

📌

dutchjohnj.bsky.social•42 days ago

#exileElontomars

markazali.com•44 days ago

Elon could never be as cool as this guy

torrleonard.bsky.social•43 days ago

Further reading.

“As Los Angeles Fires Burn, Residents Turn to Watch Duty App-

The nonprofit app serves as a one-stop shop for updates from govt agencies, as well as evacuation perimeters — all maintained by a team of trained volunteers and paid reporters”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-10/as-los-angeles-fires-burn-residents-turn-to-watch-duty-app

maxxxv.bsky.social•44 days ago

I live in California. Watch duty is absolutely the best app for information on fires. Nothing else compares.

anandamatos.bsky.social•44 days ago

📌

spenceman58.bsky.social•44 days ago

Just downloaded it. Not in the fire risk area but will definitely support this project anyway I can.

aimejesse.bsky.social•44 days ago

I live in one of the first three CA counties that this app got its start on, and it’s been amazing from the get go. I’m so proud of how far these guys have come with this app - two of our local fire/scanner reporting folks had a hand in creating it. It’s become a must have app for the western states

kraftytess.bsky.social•44 days ago

A few years ago someone was setting fires around the outskirts of Healdsburg & it was so great to have them monitoring & keeping us all informed.

oldrocklady.bsky.social•42 days ago

Elon Musk is a disgusting liar spreading hate across out country

dcell1961.bsky.social•42 days ago

provencrayfish.bsky.social•42 days ago

The extreme wealth in the hands of techies means they have no real problems, which is why they’re obsessed with things nobody wants (I couldn’t give less of a fuck about going to Mars) and disdainful towards things that could actually help people (mitigating/reversing climate change)

provencrayfish.bsky.social•42 days ago

I have yet to meet anyone who actually uses any of these AI assistant garbage tools, because only CEOs and the ultrawealthy have convinced themselves that their time is so valuable that they need to delegate every single task to a servant. No normal person that I know has or needs an assistant

meeshdreams.bsky.social•44 days ago

Great article.

wyldefire.bsky.social•44 days ago

Watch Duty added 600,000 users overnight, is getting 20,000 requests *per second* with > 1MM users per hour. Twitter added less than a million users per month last year. I'm sure Elon would light all of California on fire if it would drive users to his app like this.

wyldefire.bsky.social•44 days ago

I lost my home in the Marshall fire and Watch Duty is like my security blanket. I don't know how I'd sleep without it ❤️

markpanning.seismology.space•44 days ago

This app is amazing during this time. When LA county sent out an inadvertent evacuation warning, I went right to the app and figured out I was still okay, and I’ve been glued to it for the whole time of these fires.

haminator22.bsky.social•44 days ago

I was referred to it today when trying to figure out if there was a fire in my city, and I love it! Also, that false alarm was so, so bad. 🤦🏼‍♀️

drew.rw•44 days ago

That man is a saint!

janhamcam.bsky.social•44 days ago

thanks for sharing the link. Watch Duty (app and Web site) has been a godsend the past few days. i've out-of-state relatives using it.

nyxsoul.bsky.social•44 days ago

I'm in Michigan and have been using it to monitor fires close to family in the LA area. The access to time sensitive information has been an immense comfort.

janhamcam.bsky.social•44 days ago

lol, my family is in Wisconsin!

nyxsoul.bsky.social•44 days ago

Stay safe in CA! 💫✨️🖖

1ntrusivethott.bsky.social•44 days ago

i’m curious about the future of the app. will it remain a non-profit?

lainna.bsky.social•44 days ago

He’s said he’s committed to keeping it free for all

woundedbear.bsky.social•44 days ago

They do have a yearly subscription that you can buy that adds a lot of features.

kraftytess.bsky.social•44 days ago

Yes you can see the planes & helicopters. It started up here in the North Bay & Sonoma was one of the original counties so have been using it awhile. We pretty much all do up here.

abstract53.bsky.social•44 days ago

I live in Sonoma County and rely on Watch Duty all the time.

kraftytess.bsky.social•44 days ago

Same! In Healdsburg.

abstract53.bsky.social•44 days ago

I love Watch Duty.

nessiepurgatory.bsky.social•44 days ago

Sharing to read later, but…I like where the headline is leading me.

susiecambria.bsky.social•44 days ago

We need more of this.

uhjustin.bsky.social•44 days ago

Slick app. It’s staying on my phone.

jennpozner.bsky.social•44 days ago

📌

rimrunner.bsky.social•44 days ago

This app is so good. I’ve been using it for awhile but just bought a membership.

cathyrd.bsky.social•44 days ago

The app is not showing up in the Apple App Store…

kraftytess.bsky.social•44 days ago

Just took this screenshot of it in the app store

cathyrd.bsky.social•44 days ago

Maybe not available in Canada? I have family in LA so I’d sure like to access it.

hengymrohebwlad.bsky.social•44 days ago

They currently cover western USA & Hawaii (really impressive project):

"Watching Over Fourteen States

Watch Duty is a service, not an app, powered by over 150 volunteers – firefighters, dispatchers, and first responders – [...] to send you the most up-to-date information."

https://www.watchduty.org/
‍

rockie-squirrel.bsky.social•44 days ago

I’m also in Canada and it didn’t show up in the App Store.

kraftytess.bsky.social•43 days ago

I heard back and it isn’t available in Canada. So sorry!

kraftytess.bsky.social•43 days ago

I heard back from one of the staff and it’s not available in Canada. 😔

cathyrd.bsky.social•43 days ago

Tx for checking Tessa! Very kind.

kraftytess.bsky.social•44 days ago

That could be, I guess. I’m sorry. I submitted a question about that on the app. I’ll let you know if they answer & what they say.

carlynclark.bsky.social•44 days ago

Just learned about the app this week. We've relied on it to figure out what's going on. When you look out the window at night and see flames on the ridge it's impossible to figure out if it's the nearest one or far in the distance. Wasn't available for the Station Fire, huge difference. He's a hero

bstein53.bsky.social•32 days ago

We definitely don’t need to go to mars

kathiemcmcclure.bsky.social•44 days ago

My son and daughter-in-law live in DTLA. I learned about Watch Duty on Wednesday from the BlueSky News feed and downloaded it immediately. It has been very helpful in not only tracking the fires but also providing important context about the location of the fires in relation to my son’s location.

aydenburd.bsky.social•44 days ago

Based

crazeedogluver.bsky.social•30 days ago

Please support this app, Watchduty is the most informative, unbiased form of information and updates available during a wildfire catastrophe!!! I've used it numerous times during evacuating and it's saved many lives!!!

vickib.bsky.social•44 days ago

Best app. I live in fire country and would not live without it.

persianx6.bsky.social•44 days ago

This guys app is doing incredible work.

audes-wisent.bsky.social•44 days ago

It's definitely a good example as to what Techbros are missing. They see technology as a jumping point for their, often delusional, fantasies of personal grandeur. What technology is supposed to do however is to solve problems and this app is solving problems.

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