LA residents find a lifeline in this free wildfire-tracking app

Watch Duty, a nonprofit-run app that tracks wildfires with live maps and alerts, has shot to the top of Apple’s App Store charts this week as Californian residents look to navigate catastrophic blazes devastating Los Angeles.

The app launched in 2021 and is now available in 22 states, providing evacuation warnings, real-time text, photo and video updates, and a map interface with flame icons to show regions where fires are blazing. Users can access information on evacuation routes...