Lessons from the LA Wildfires

Today marks our first day out of the risk zone with over 80 percent of fires contained. Last week, I shared our evacuation story on Instagram. We were fortunate to return home; many weren't. Amid the chaos and efforts of 17,000 firefighters, a crucial lesson emerged: when systems become overwhelmed or outdated, people step up.

The view of our neighborhood on the night we evacuated.

Here’s what happened: When the fire broke, we needed updates fast. With my experience making stories for the Ukraine War and Iran Uprising, I instinctively turned to Twitter. Local updates. Real-time info. I knew how to navigate it. But it lasted only a couple of hours. Then the flood came: hate, misinformation, noise.

Even Google Maps was outdated. The city was so overwhelmed that responders sent wrong evacuation messages left and right. Official government websites were ancient and slow.

Solution? There was one app that saved millions: Watch Duty.

This app, founded by two Californians who lost everything in a 2020 wildfire, features a slick design and instant updates. It was built to work when nothing else does. And damn! It never crashed, even while a mega city was refreshing it every second.

While billionaires, politicians, and trolls drowned the internet in lies and noise, this app showed up. John Mills, the CEO, who runs the whole team on donations, subscriptions, and volunteers, wrote: "I don’t want to sell this. To who? No one should own this."

Now people are sending them love letters and they’re expanding to the states desperately in need of an app like this. Texas is next.

My point? Many of us are absolutely disappointed—by the greed of big corporations, the misinformation spread by a new generation of billionaires, and the lack of compassion in governments everywhere in the world.

That’s true. But then you see the effort of two people who cared—and you realize: they made a difference. They created something no one can crash, disrupt, or ruin.

The world isn’t fair, and it’s tough—but we have the tools and tech to fight back: the internet, AI, and no-code tools. These aren’t just for corporations anymore; they’re ours to use.

A better future is ours if we’re willing to make a move.

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