Since the Palisades fire broke out on the morning of January 7, Many more wildfires have devastated Los Angeles area. At least 27 people are killed and more than 12,000 structures are destroyed.
In the midst of all this, a false evacuation alert sent to all LA County's approximately 10 million residents The chaos escalated on January 9, as many Angelenos became unsure what to believe.
“Although the city alerts are certainly worrisome, we have not been able to take any of the city push alerts at face value [a] “There were two rounds of mistakes,” L.A.-based clinical researcher Sharvari Akre-Bhide told CBS News.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Instead, L.A. residents gravitated toward Watch Duty, an app that shows real-time updates and alerts for wildfires in 21 states.
In the early days of the fire, Watch Duty rocketed to the No. 1 spot in Apple's App Store overnight. It provides users with easy-to-read maps showing burn areas, evacuation zones, fire cameras, and more. All this is derived from publicly available data and verified by a team of Agni fact-checkers.
“Sending false emergency alerts is a quick way to erode trust,” John Mills, the app's co-founder and CEO, told CBS News.
Watch Duty has been a lifeline for many people in communities affected by wildfires since it was created in 2021.
“We paid enough attention to the city's warning earlier to pack an emergency bag, but beyond that, we are monitoring watch duties before taking any action,” Akre-Bhide said. “…We are basically cross checking every city's push alerts issued immediately with watch duty and then reevaluating.”
She is not alone. Longtime California resident Kerry Gelloux told CBS News she checks Watch Duty the same way she checks her favorite weather app.
“It's about the facts,” Gelloux said. “It's about what's out there as real and in real time as you can get it. And while I love hearing people's opinions about things, that's where misinformation can really happen.”
look at duty
How does watch duty work?
Watch Duty says the process for tracking and verifying its information is deceptively simple. Information comes in, is confirmed and delivered to users.
“The difference with watch duty is that the people who are reporting on it are people who have been in the field, people who understand the importance of, 'You've got a five-minute evacuation window,'” Gelloux said. Said.
Watch Duty has more than 150 volunteers made up of active and retired first responders, firefighters and dispatchers who monitor radios, scan the Internet and reach out to authorities. If something comes through one of those channels, the team coordinates and confirms various pieces of new information. Once it's confirmed, an incident leader will send an update to the app, which will in turn alert users in the area.
“We have historical recordings of everything we do here.” Mills explained. “So it's hard to debate, because that's what was said at the time. And so we try to take the opinion and sensationalism out of it.”
Mills says that facts and the straightforward process of science “used to be the world we lived in, and we want to bring that back.”
“We didn't start this because of misinformation,” Mills said. “We started it by looking at good information.”
running on trust
Mills cites as one of the reasons the confusion seen in California is what he believes is an outdated national warning system, which is inadequately equipped to handle the magnitude of future natural disasters.
“They have these mysterious checks and balances from the FEMA ICS (Incident Command System) structure that was invented in the seventies.” Mills said. “Disasters are increasing rapidly, and they have not been updated.”
Mills' comments come as the L.A. Fire Department facing investigation On its response to the Palisades Fire.
“I'm not blaming the LA Emergency Operations Center or any of these guys here. It's a tough thing to do,” Mills said.
Gelloux seems to agree.
“If you're waiting for the news to tell you what to do, or you're waiting for the fire engines to arrive, you can die.” Gelloux said. ,[Watch Duty] Understands the urgency.”
Mills sees need to serve watch duty beyond fire Climate change Putting more people in the way of potential disasters.
“We saw similar nonsense during the recent floods Tsunami warning in California “It went haywire, and just spread misinformation that caused panic all around.”
According to Mills, Watch Duty is unique from its Silicon Valley counterparts because it is a non-profit with no plans for change.
“Watch Duty is a nonprofit because, I mean, the very simple answer is, it's the right thing to do,” Mills said.
With 2.8 million users, premium subscription options, and full-time employees, Watch Duty has significant cash flow. according to the company 2024 annual reportIt raised $5.6 million through a combination of grants, donations and paying members. But Mills has no plans to put the app behind a paywall.
“This is a government service and a municipal operation that must be free and free of advertisements, spam, sign-up logins, third party marketing. [and] Selling you a fire hose while you're trying to run for your life.” Mills said. “This is absolutely ridiculous, and that's why we will take no part in it.”
So how should California government officials respond? “If I were him, I would pick up the phone and call him,” Mills says.
jui sarwate And
Contributed to this report.