In 2020, John Mills, a technologist living in Sonoma County, came face-to-face with a raging wildfire.

• He recalls having 15 tabs open on his computer, scouring the internet for updates. "I kept asking myself, 'Where's the information? Why can't I figure out what's going on?'"

📻 The most useful information Mills found came from volunteers — many of them retired firefighters and first responders — listening in on fire service radio communications and spreading the word.

• Mills evacuated that day and his house was safe — the fire was contained about a quarter mile from his property. But that experience stuck with him and drove him to co-found Watch Duty, a free, nonprofit app that compiles information on disasters, in 2021.

Why it matters: Natural disasters, from wildfires to flash floods, are becoming more common around America and the world. In these harrowing situations, getting information to people in time saves lives.

• "If you look at what happened in Lahaina, the Palisades and the Kerrville, Texas, floods, it's all the same story," Mills tells Axios.

🌴 Zoom in: Watch Duty became a lifeline for millions in LA this past January when multiple fires were burning around the city, The New York Times reports.

• Watch Duty's staffers and network of volunteers take information that's already out there — whether on the radio or clunky government websites — and present it in a way anyone can understand.

The app's live maps of wildfires and evacuation zones were used by LA civilians and first responders alike.

• "A lot of the magic we do is actually parsing disparate information in a way that is digestible and readable for both firefighters and 80-year-olds," says Mills.

👀 Between the lines: One key feature of the app is that it doesn't require users to give their phone number or email to sign up.

• That's an intentional move to minimize user data collection and make getting vital information as seamless as possible, Mills says.

What's next: Right now, the app tracks fires in 22 states west of the Mississippi River.

• Watch Duty plans to expand to all 50 states and then eventually go global. And the app will soon start tracking other natural disasters, starting with flash floods.

💡 The bottom line: "There's a lot of good that tech can do," says Mills. "I wanted to see more of it in the world."

Reader Leslie Lopato captured this stunning landscape on a recent early morning birding trip to Redwood Shores in Redwood City, Calif.