As a public service to our community, we’ve dropped the paywall on the latest news and live updates on San Diego County fire weather.
As San Diegans hunker down amid another period of strong Santa Ana winds and a red flag fire weather warning, they may also want to prepare their devices with apps and alert programs that will notify them of potential danger.
Emergency officials use apps, in addition to social media and other tools, to warn about everything from gas leaks to evacuations.
Here are some options to consider. For the apps, extra steps to turn on notifications may be needed, depending on the settings that are already in place.
AlertCalifornia
A statewide network of live fire and weather cameras operated by UC San Diego allows California residents to observe current wildfires or check out an area before one happens. For example, some of the available options for San Diego County are “Mt. Laguna Obsv North,” “Palomar Observatory North” and “San Marcos Peak N Axis.”
The cameras can be viewed live or with a look at amounts of time between five minutes ago and 12 hours ago. San Diegans may also want to use the cameras to observe wildfires elsewhere in the state. Go to cameras.alertcalifornia.org to see all the options.
Alert San Diego
This emergency notification system, run by the county of San Diego, notifies locals via landline phones, cellphones, internet phones and email. San Diegans with landlines do not need to sign up, according to county officials, but for alerts from cellphones or email, registration is required.
Go to alertsandiego.org to sign up.
There is also an Alert San Diego app, which provides information on shelters, the latest emergency notifications, emergency maps and other resources. This app is also used for earthquake alerts.
Cal Fire Ready for Wildfire
This is a web-based app that is accessible from a browser; there is no . To monitor current wildfire activity, go to incidents.readyforwildfire.org. There is an option to search by ZIP code or view a statewide fire map and individual incident reports.
Cal Fire also offers a program with text messaging about current wildfire incidents within 20 miles of the participant. Go to plan.readyforwildfire.org to sign up.
Genasys Protect
The city of San Diego’s office of emergency services recommends g up for the Genasys Protect program, which provides notices about evacuation orders. s can customize their preferences and track multiple locations.
the app or use the web platform at protect.genasys.com/search.
SDG&E
San Diego Gas & Electric provides alerts related to its Public Safety Power Shutoff program via an app. s of the app can see a map showing locations that are at risk for a power shutoff or currently without power. They can also input certain addresses to monitor them.
Sign up at sdge.com/alerts-sdge.
Watch Duty
Watch Duty is an easy-to-use wildfire app and website run by a nonprofit based in Sonoma County. It provides the latest news on specific fires, including evacuation notices, and detailed maps.
Other available information includes the latest videos from news conferences by emergency officials and air quality notices, and app s can also sign up for alerts. Without the app, some features are still available on watchduty.org.
