The Watch Duty app, which is expanding to cover Hawai‘i, offers real-time updates and information about wildfires. This screenshot shows a number of wildfires burning in California on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.

Watch Duty, a smartphone app that provides real-time wildfire information, is expanding its coverage to Hawai’i.

The announcement about the expansion came Thursday, more than a year after the devastating Lahaina fire, as many communities are still not equipped with adequate real-time information about wildfires.

Watch Duty is already operating across the 13 western states, providing real-time alerts and continued expert reporting for local residents in areas impacted by fast-moving and unpredictable wildfires.

According to the nonprofit organization, Watch Duty delivers critical updates that are vetted by a team of current and former firefighters and first responders, retired dispatchers and reporters faster than any other available channel, allowing impacted residents to make informed decisions during stressful and uncertain times, when official notices often take much longer, if they appear at all.

“The majority of fatalities occur within the first hours of a fire, meaning every second counts,” said John Mills, co-founder and CEO at Watch Duty, in a statement. “We built Watch Duty to give people like us who live in wildfire-prone areas a more timely and trustworthy option for receiving critical updates as quickly as possible. When there’s a wildfire in or near your area, you’ll receive an update directly to your phone, within minutes, and without having to mine through various community groups on Facebook, Twitter or other mass forums, which often contain dated or dubious information.”

According to Jeff Lemelin, volunteer battalion chief for the Sonoma County Fire District, when a wildfire occurs, panic and confusion are often the first emotions to set in, which is especially dangerous when you factor in how unpredictable and fast-moving many fires are.

“Watch Duty is providing a vital public service by providing a simple and highly trustworthy option for receiving the key information around wildfire movements, containment status and, especially, evacuation notices, that people need, delivered when they most need it,” Lemelin said in the release.

Watch Duty reports it is currently being used by more than 3 million users in the American West and is actively being utilized by fire chiefs, first responders, tanker pilots, and other fire fighting personnel.

People can download the app for free on the App Store, Google Play or at watchduty.org for free. For more, go to watchduty.org.