Watch Duty is designed to provide real-time emergency information directly through our website and mobile apps. We’re often asked whether Watch Duty data can also be accessed through an API, exported, or incorporated into other tools.

Does Watch Duty have a public API?

No. Watch Duty does not currently offer a public API for accessing our incident data, including for non-commercial use.

Our internal endpoints are built to support Watch Duty's products and should not be treated as a public API. Unauthenticated requests to these endpoints may be blocked and should not be expected to work reliably.

This helps us protect the reliability and availability of Watch Duty, particularly during major incidents when traffic to our systems can increase dramatically.

Can I embed Watch Duty in another website or dashboard?

Whether Watch Duty can be embedded or incorporated into another product may depend on how it will be used, including whether the product is for internal, public, or commercial use.

For organizations that want to incorporate Watch Duty into another tool or workflow, please contact us at support@watchduty.org.

Can my organization use Watch Duty data internally?

Watch Duty information can be used to support informed internal decision-making. Organizations that need direct access to Watch Duty data can explore our Enterprise Solution and Data Intelligence Package.

The Data Intelligence Package is intended for organizations that need Watch Duty data as part of their internal operational workflows.

Watch Duty data may not be used to power an external notification or alerting system.

Learn more about Enterprise data access.

Can I download historical Watch Duty fire data?

Watch Duty's systems are designed to provide real-time public information rather than serve as a historical fire data repository.

We don't currently provide spreadsheets or bulk exports of historical Watch Duty incident data.

Can I access Watch Duty's fire perimeter data?

Watch Duty does not provide fire perimeter data through a public API.

Much of the perimeter information displayed in Watch Duty comes from external authoritative sources. If you're looking for publicly available wildfire perimeter and mapping data, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) provides fire information and mapping resources directly.