Building a Real-Time Wildfire Alert Platform with Watch Duty
Episode description
John Mills is the Co-Founder and CEO of Watch Duty, the leading app for real-time wildfire alerts in the U.S.
In this episode of Inevitable, John shares how Watch Duty became a vital public safety tool—rising to #1 in the App Store during the recent Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Watch Duty delivers live updates on fire spread, evacuations, and recovery efforts. While historically funded by donations and memberships, the platform now also offers a pro version for first responders, utilities, and emergency managers.
John discusses his vision for building a mission-driven tech company that serves the public while scaling to meet growing demand in an increasingly wildfire-prone world.
In this episode, we cover:
- [4:00] Introduction to Watch Duty
- [07:39] Gaining trust and overcoming initial resistance from fire departments
- [09:06] How first responders are using Watch Duty
- [09:57] Inside the “war room” during the Palisades Fire response
- [13:24] How Watch Duty reporters gather and vet real-time radio traffic
- [17:28] Nuance and restraint in sharing emergency information
- [20:50] The origin story of Watch Duty
- [21:11] John’s journey from Silicon Valley to off-grid life and nonprofit founder
- [36:44] Operating as a nonprofit and scaling into new disaster zones
- [52:58] Why private innovation is outpacing government tech
- [57:22] Advice for founders building in disaster response and recovery
- [01:00:12] Final thoughts on mission, trust, and what’s next for Watch Duty
Episode recorded on March 12, 2025 (Published on April 3, 2025)
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant