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Watch Duty brings together information from trusted, verified, and authoritative sources to help you understand what's happening during wildfires, floods, and other emergencies.
Our reporting team monitors multiple sources to consolidate important incident information into a single place.
Where does our information come from?
Live public safety radio traffic
Watch Duty reporters listen to live radio communications between first responders, dispatchers, Incident Command, and other personnel responding to an incident.
This is an important source of real-time information, particularly during the early stages of an incident. When you see "per scanner traffic" in a Watch Duty update, it means the information came from public safety radio communications.
Official agencies
Our reporters monitor information published by the agencies responsible for an incident, including local sheriffs, fire departments, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and other public safety agencies.
Depending on the agency, these updates may be shared through official websites, emergency notification systems such as Nixle, social media, or other public communication channels.
Automated sources
Watch Duty also receives information from official data sources such as WildCAD and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
In some cases, this information can automatically create or update an incident in Watch Duty without a reporter actively monitoring it.
When an incident is automated, you'll see a note explaining that the updates are being provided automatically and that Watch Duty reporters are not actively monitoring the incident.
Does Watch Duty use information from social media?
Our reporters monitor official agency accounts on social media as one of many sources of incident information.
We don't publish incident information based solely on an unverified social media post or report from a member of the public.
If you see something that may be relevant to an incident, you're welcome to bring it to our attention, but our reporting team will need to verify the information before we can publish it.
Should I still follow my local agencies?
Yes. Watch Duty should complement, not replace, information from your local public safety agencies.
We work to consolidate important information in one place, but we recommend subscribing to emergency communications from your local city, county, sheriff, fire department, and other relevant agencies as well.
What if I see a fire that isn't in Watch Duty?
If you see a fire or believe there is an emergency, call 911 first.
Watch Duty is not a place to report an emergency. Don't wait for an incident to appear in Watch Duty before contacting emergency services.
Once first responders are aware of an incident, Watch Duty may begin monitoring and reporting on it based on the information available from our sources.
How does Watch Duty decide what to publish?
We take the trust people place in Watch Duty seriously and follow standards for how incident information is verified and reported.
You can learn more by reading the Watch Duty Code of Conduct and How Watch Duty Works.
For more information about how Watch Duty reports on fire acreage and containment, see Why Do Acreage and Containment Numbers Differ From Other Sources?.