Watch Duty surged to the summit of the Apple App Store rankings on Wednesday, amassing nearly half a million downloads within just one day as three devastating infernos blazed through Southern California, claiming at least five lives and compelling thousands to evacuate. The application provides users with the latest notifications about fires in their vicinity and has evolved into an essential service for millions of individuals in the western U.S. grappling with the persistent menace of lethal wildfires—one significant reason it registered over 360,000 distinct visits from 8:00-8:30 a.m. on Wednesday local time. The creator of Watch Duty assures that as a nonprofit, his entity has no intentions of transforming into a profit-driven enterprise like OpenAI.

Watch Duty was established in 2021 by John Mills, the originator and CEO, motivated to develop an app following unnerving wildfires in 2019 and 2020 near his residence in Sonoma County, California. Mills, a technology entrepreneur who sold his previous enterprise Zenput a few years prior, recounted that he struggled to find the necessary information online and conducted extensive inquiries to discover who possessed the most current data. Mills vacated his property due to the Walbridge Fire in 2020, deciding action was necessary.

“I spent countless nights for eight consecutive days, staying awake to listen to radios, sifting through the internet, and realizing this was a severely flawed issue,” Mills explained. “And numerous individuals who assisted me through that blaze are now employees in my company.”

Mills noted these individuals steered him through his predicaments, and it took him approximately six extra months to understand that the same individuals who supported him were the keys to solving the issue—since Watch Duty isn’t merely one individual who programmed an app, even though Mills did that on his own. It comprises a team making it functional. Watch Duty now spans 22 states, maintaining a staff of 15 full-time members, seven of whom are journalists delivering updates on the app, all assisted by dozens of volunteers.

“Unexpectedly, it took us just approximately 80 days to launch [Watch Duty],” Mills remarked, emphasizing its lightweight nature. “The crux was indeed the journalists themselves, the radio operators, right?”

Mills stated that he needed to clarify to prospective contributors to the app that he wasn’t “a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur seeking gain from catastrophe,” but merely an individual concerned about preserving his property amid wildfires, believing it could assist others. They initiated in only three counties in California in August 2021, but soon mobilized 50,000 users within a mere couple of weeks. In the last year, Watch Duty attracted 7.2 million users, soaring from 1.9 million the year before.

“Engineering educated me to engineer, but as I matured, I realized that merely constructing something doesn’t mean people will adopt it, right?” Mills pondered. “Why are you creating it? Why does it hold significance? How do you introduce it to the market? How do you exploit technology to genuinely impact the world?”

That realization dawned on Mills. He conveyed to Gizmodo that it revolved around engaging emergency radio observers who possessed the freshest insights and sharing their findings on an app as reporters.

The enterprise was initiated as a non-profit 501(c)(3) and endeavors to maintain transparency about its financial operations and public interest activities. The app is cost-free, but users may subscribe for extra amenities that are appealing, though not essential for ensuring safety, such as details on air tanker routes at specific moments.

Watch Duty secured $2 million in earnings last year from 65,500 fee-paying members, alongside an extra $600,000 from personal contributors, and a $2 million endowment from Google. The organization likewise received a $1 million grant from an affluent individual desiring to remain unidentified, Mills informs Gizmodo. The Watch Duty website provides a 2024 annual statement elucidating where funds are allocated and future objectives for 2025.

“We’re searching for a method to establish a long-term nonprofit that maintains the complimentary version without resorting to the grim tactic of December fundraising just because the budget isn’t met come January, and organizing numerous events while beseeching people for money,”pronounced Mills.

In 2012, Mills established Zenput, a technology platform utilized by food establishments for managing inventory and organizing schedules, which he sold in 2022. His father was a craftsman of cabinets and also held an executive role at IBM, partly explaining why Mills has been engrossed with computers since childhood.

“I was raised in a workshop filled with wood and a computer, you know? I started coding when I was eight. Before that, I was hands-on with manual tasks. Hence, a significant part of my existence revolves around tech,” expressed Mills. At the age of eight, he was too inexperienced to handle the tools for cabinet-making that his father used, so he would “turn to the computer and begin experimenting.”

Mills comprehends the significance of what he’s built and the essential aid it provides in perilous circumstances. “When Watch Duty alerts you, it’s due to an adverse event unfolding,” asserted Mills.

The app has gained acknowledgment both locally in California and on a national scale, even receiving an invitation to an Innovation Roundtable at the White House in October 2024. The team aspires to broaden its reach to other states and address different forms of natural emergencies like floods.

“We intentionally named this enterprise Watch Duty, not Fire Duty, right?” Mills explained. “We were aware from the outset that it concerned spatial challenges. If individuals need to relocate, that’s the arena we aim to engage in.”

Mills assures that his organization remains steadfast in its non-profit model, as opposed to following a path towards profit like OpenAI did, a decision that garnered considerable attention.

“Contrary to OpenAI, we’re not altering our course. We’re not up for acquisition. That’s irrational conduct,” stated Mills, criticizing OpenAI’s obscured business tactics. “There are no shell corporations. There’s no hidden proprietor or any such entity concealed within the enterprise intentionally.”