The Watch Duty app is a free wildfire map that alerts you whenever a wildfire is confirmed in your county.
If wildfire worries you, lower your home's risk with ember-resistant vent screens.
In this guide and companion video, you will learn what the Watch Duty app is, how to set up its alerts, and how to use Genasys Protect, San Diego County's own evacuation app.
Watch this how-to video for using Watch Duty and Genasys Protect on a smartphone.
What Is The Watch Duty App?
Run by a nonprofit, the Watch Duty app shows real-time wildfire maps and alerts across the United States.[1]
According to Watch Duty, the app covers all 50 states and reaches more than 16 million Americans.[2]
Basic use is free with no ads, and paid memberships add a few extra features.[3]
The app tracks wildfires, not house fires.
A house fire next door will not trigger an alert unless it spreads into the brush.
Vegetation fires appear in the app only after Watch Duty confirms them.[4]
Staff and volunteers at Watch Duty are "active and retired emergency dispatchers, first responders, and reporters."[5]
Here is how the app works: authorized reporters listen to fire radio, watch cameras and satellite views, and post what they can confirm.
According to the nonprofit, its alerts "aren't crowdsourced or AI generated."
Unlike a Wikipedia page, a wildfire report cannot be started by the public; trained reporters start every report.
The public can add photos from the ground, which reporters review before posting.[6]
Watch Duty reporters check each report from radio, cameras, satellites, and official news before sending an alert.
To check an active wildfire, tap its fire icon on the map to open the fire's page.
The red outline shows the fire's perimeter, the edge of the area burned so far.
The page also shows the acres burned, when the fire started, and its containment, the share of its edge that crews have under control.
Tap any fire on the Watch Duty map to see its red perimeter, acres burned, and containment, as shown for this Monterey County fire.
Scroll down a fire's page for a list of updates, which reporters post from fire officials and fire radio.
The top of the page shows when the fire was last updated.
The app also shows Red Flag Warnings and flood warnings.[7]
The National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning "when fire conditions are ongoing or expected to occur shortly," so homeowners can prepare.[8]
Flood warnings help people who live near creeks, rivers, or the coast.
Tap a blue shaded area on the Watch Duty map to see a flood warning's start time, end time, and status.
You can also use Watch Duty in any web browser at app.watchduty.org.
For what wind-driven embers do to houses during a wildfire, read "how many homes burn down from embers."
How To Set Up The Watch Duty App
The companion video shows these steps on an iPhone, and here is the short version.
On an Android phone, use Google Play instead of the App Store.
Menus in Watch Duty change often, so the names below may differ slightly.
In the App Store or Google Play, search for "Watch Duty."
Skip any listing marked "Ad," and tap "Get" on the listing named Watch Duty.
Search the App Store for "watch duty" and download the listing named Watch Duty, which can sit between two ads for other apps.
When the Watch Duty app asks to send notifications, tap "Allow."[9]
Once notifications are allowed, alerts also appear on a paired smartwatch.
Then tap the menu button in the top-left corner, and choose "Notifications."
Access Notifications in Watch Duty by tapping the menu button in the top-left corner, then selecting "Notifications" from the menu.
Turn on all three settings: "Notifications," "Time Sensitive Notifications," and "Critical Alerts."
Tap "Add County," and choose San Diego County.
Tap "Test Notifications" to make sure alerts reach your phone.
On the Notifications screen, switch on all three settings, then tap "Add County" and choose San Diego County.
On an iPhone, "Critical Alerts" ring even when the phone is on silent.[10]
Critical Alerts are saved for "exceptional life-safety situations," according to Watch Duty.
San Diego County covers 4,300 square miles, about 65 miles north to south and 86 miles east to west.[11]
For most San Diego homes, San Diego County is the only county you need.
If you live near the county line, also add Orange or Riverside County to the north, or Imperial County to the east.
Turn Off Alerts For Far-Away Fires
For San Diego residents, one San Diego County subscription alerts you to every confirmed wildfire in the county.
San Diego County is 86 miles wide, so many of those fires will be far from your home.
You can turn off notifications for any fire that does not affect you.[12]
Tap the fire on the map, then scroll down its page.
Tap the notifications button above "Share Incident" to turn off notifications for that incident.
You then stop getting updates about that fire, and new fires still send alerts.
Scroll down a fire's page and tap the notifications button, directly above "Share Incident," to switch alerts for that fire on or off.
Distance is no guarantee of safety, because embers "can travel miles ahead of a wildfire," according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.[13]
Pay close attention to any Red Flag Warning, when embers may be in the air.
Our guide to "how far can fire embers travel" gives the distances fire agencies have recorded.
What Is Genasys Protect In San Diego?
Genasys Protect is San Diego County's evacuation-zone app.[14]
The County of San Diego and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) launched the app on May 31, 2024.[15]
Genasys Protect splits the county into small evacuation zones, each with its own zone ID.[16]
Start from the wide Genasys Protect map of San Diego County, then zoom in on your area to see its evacuation zones and zone IDs.
Small zones let the County evacuate one neighborhood at a time, instead of a whole town.[17]
The County's emergency services director said in 2024, "The new zones will limit unnecessary evacuations."
If Genasys Protect shows an evacuation order for your zone, take it seriously and leave.
Genasys Protect covers San Diego County only.
Outside San Diego County, use Watch Duty and your own county's alerts.[18]
To find your zone, type your home address into the search bar at protect.genasys.com, or in the app.
The map shows your zone ID and whether the zone has any alerts.
Genasys advises, "Be sure to write down the name of your zone somewhere easily visible."
Tap your location in Genasys Protect to see its zone ID and alert status, and write that zone ID down.
The Genasys Protect app is free.[19]
Search the App Store or Google Play for "Genasys Protect," spelled Genasys.
Skip the ad above it, and tap "Get" on the listing by Genasys.
Search the App Store for "genasys protect" and download the listing by Genasys, not the ad above it.
In the app, save your home or business zone as a "Saved Location."
Then tap the gear icon on the "My Alerts" screen, and choose "Notification Preferences."
Turn on "Notifications," and set "Allow notifications" to "All Alerts."
In Genasys Protect, tap the gear icon, open "Notification Preferences," and set "Allow notifications" to "All Alerts."
Your phone then gets an alert whenever an evacuation or emergency order affects a saved zone.
How Watch Duty And Genasys Protect Work Together
Use the Watch Duty app for first notice when a wildfire starts.
Use Genasys Protect as a second source that tells you when an evacuation order affects your zone.
Do not rely on either app as your only source of information.
CAL FIRE has said apps like Watch Duty "should not be regarded as official sources of information."[20]
Neither app is perfect, so checking both is safer than trusting one.
Built-in map apps, such as Google Maps or Apple Maps, generally do not show fire reports or evacuation zones in this much detail.
Download both apps for the information a regular map leaves out.
Compare the same stretch of San Diego County in Watch Duty, Genasys Protect, and Apple Maps, and use each app for the information it shows.
When Watch Duty alerts you to a nearby fire, open Genasys Protect and check your zone.
If your zone has an evacuation warning or order, follow law enforcement's instructions.
San Diego County also sends calls, texts, and emails through AlertSanDiego.[21]
The County tells residents to "Register your cell phone number to receive targeted phone, text, and email alerts."
Before the next alert, our home-hardening guide to "ember resistant vents" explains how to close the openings embers use.
Prepare Your Home Before The Next Alert
Wind-blown embers can land on a roof and drift into open vents.
CAL FIRE tells homeowners to "Install 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch noncombustible, corrosion-resistant metal mesh over vents to block embers."[22]
Total Screen's ember-resistant vent screens are powder-coated steel mesh with 1/16-inch openings.
Each screen is cut to fit and fastened over an existing vent.
Round under-eave vents before and after Total Screen fitted ember-resistant vent screens.
Total Screen installs the screens from outside, with no interior work, and finishes most homes in one day.
Total Screen covers foundation, gable, under-eave, and dormer vents.
Every job comes with an Ember Installation Receipt showing a licensed contractor did the work.
If you are thinking of installing ember screens yourself and you are over 65, stay off ladders.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says "Those 65 and older are 80% more likely than other adults to visit an emergency room for injuries involving ladders or stools."[23]
Let Total Screen's installers do the ladder work for you.
A Total Screen installer fits an ember-resistant vent screen to a gable vent on a San Diego County home.
Get Ember Screens Before The Next Fire Alert
Get ember screens before the next wildfire alert; book a free on-site ember screen estimate with Total Screen in San Diego.
Call Total Screen at 1-619-871-7610, or request an estimate with the form below.
Contact Total Screen for a free estimate on ember-resistant vent screens for every vent on your home.
Disclaimer: Total Screen is not affiliated with Watch Duty, Genasys, the County of San Diego, or any app named in this article, and app features and prices change often. App screenshots were taken on an iPhone on October 25, 2026. Always follow evacuation instructions from law enforcement and fire officials; Total Screen collects public safety information from CAL FIRE, the National Weather Service, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the County of San Diego, and the app makers, and is not an emergency authority.
Sources
- Watch Duty Help Center, "Are you a non-profit?" (Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc., EIN 87-1454433): support.watchduty.org
- Watch Duty, "About" ("16M+ Americans," "across 50 states," "aren't crowdsourced or AI generated"): watchduty.org/about
- Watch Duty, membership plans (Standard free; Basic $24.99 a year; Pro $99.99 a year; 4 counties on Standard; map layers in all tiers): watchduty.org/join
- Watch Duty Help Center, "Why do notifications show up in PulsePoint and not in Watch Duty?": support.watchduty.org
- Watch Duty, "How It Works": watchduty.org
- Watch Duty Help Center, "How do I submit photos of fires to Watch Duty?": support.watchduty.org
- Wikipedia, "Watch Duty" (launch in August 2021, initially serving Sonoma County): en.wikipedia.org
- National Weather Service, "Fire Weather Watch and Red Flag Warning": weather.gov
- Watch Duty Help Center, notifications and county setup: support.watchduty.org
- Watch Duty Help Center, "Critical Alerts on iOS": support.watchduty.org
- County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, "Statistics: Geography" (4,300 square miles; 65 miles north to south and 86 miles east to west; borders Orange and Riverside Counties to the north and Imperial County to the east): sandiegocounty.gov
- Watch Duty Help Center, "How do I mute or silence notifications for a specific wildfire or flood incident?": support.watchduty.org
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, "Exposures During WUI Fires" ("Embers can travel miles ahead of a wildfire"): nist.gov
- City of Chula Vista Fire Department, "Genasys Protect": chulavistaca.gov
- 10News San Diego, "San Diego County introduces new evacuation app," May 29, 2024: 10news.com
- Genasys Help, "Finding Your Evacuation Zone Information": help.genasys.com
- KPBS, "County officials have new mapping software for emergency evacuations," May 29, 2024 (Jeff Toney, director, County Office of Emergency Services): kpbs.org
- Watch Duty Help Center, "Where can I find my evacuation zone?": support.watchduty.org
- Genasys, "Genasys Protect App" ("No Cost – Completely Free"): genasys.com
- John Mills, Watch Duty founder, "No one should need the Watch Duty app," Los Angeles Times op-ed reposted by Watch Duty, January 28, 2025: watchduty.org
- County of San Diego Office of Emergency Services, "Download the All New Alert San Diego App": alertsandiego.org
- CAL FIRE, Ready for Wildfire, "Hardening Your Home": readyforwildfire.org
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Home Safe: Outdoor Repairs" checklist: cpsc.gov