Watch Duty, the non-profit public safety information organization and app, has announced the addition of UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia camera network onto the platform.
Integrating the camera feeds directly into the Watch Duty Map, officials said in a news release, provides users with real-time visual updates on wildfire conditions to enhance situational awareness.
Users of the Watch Duty app will have access to ALERTCalifornia’s live camera views alongside continuous updates provided by Watch Duty’s network of radio scanner volunteers.
ALERTCalifornia manages more than 1,090 pan-tilt-zoom monitoring cameras and sensor arrays as part of a larger research program.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with ALERTCalifornia to bring their cutting-edge wildfire monitoring technology directly to our users,” said John Mills, CEO of Watch Duty. “By integrating ALERTCalifornia’s camera feeds into our app, we are providing an invaluable tool for those in wildfire-prone areas, enabling them to see real-time conditions to make informed decisions regarding wildfire threats.”
The integration of ALERTCalifornia’s cameras into the Watch Duty app is live and available to all users. For more information about Watch Duty or to download the app, see their website. The app also may be downloaded via the Apple App Store or Google Play.
“UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia platform provides state-of-the-art sensor technology to support data-driven decisions before, during and after extreme wildfires,” said Neal Driscoll, ALERTCalifornia director and a geoscientist at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “We are pleased to collaborate with Watch Duty to provide actionable real-time data to quickly scale fire resources, help evacuations through enhanced situational awareness and monitor fire behavior.”
Watch Duty is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides real-time wildfire information and alerts to help communities make informed decisions during wildfire events.
The organization’s app is powered by a network of volunteers, including firefighters and first responders, who monitor radio scanners and send up-to-the-minute information directly to users’ phones.
