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During Januarys unprecedented wildfires in Los Angeles, Watch Dutya digital platform providing real-time fire databecame the go-to app for tracking the unfolding disaster and is credited with saving countless lives. Six months out from the fires, Watch Dutys founder and CEO, John Mills, shares how his small nonprofit responded in the heat of the crisis and became a trusted sourceeven for government agencies. As wildfire season rages on and Texas recovers from devastating floods, Watch Dutys story underscores both our growing vulnerability to natural disasters driven by climate change and the power of community-based solutions to keep us safe and connected when it matters most. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Robert Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with todays top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. As I understand it, Watch Duty is a nonprofit and it’s an app that gathers information largely from volunteers, right? From regular people who are monitoring fires? It’s like a community? Very much so. You can look at Reddit and Wikipedia in a similar way. The difference is, we do it live. We have about 200 volunteers, about 20 paid staff, about 10 of those are radio operators themselves. But the information really comes from fire service radio. So after going through a couple of disasters, you realize that there’s not a Starlink in every truck. The communication systems aren’t very good. The firefighters are in danger, and the only way to hear what’s actually going on is through them collaborating with each other in real time, through the radio. And so we hear: “Fire starting here, burning over this ridge. Tankers and dozers are coming. Holding the line to Highway 87. Now the wind’s picking up, the fire’s spotting over the ridge. It’s burning over so-and-so, houses are being impacted.” You hear this live. There is no data source for this. There’s not a place for this to happen without us. So that’s how we do what we do. And this community of volunteers, are they fire workers? Or are some of them just watching and sharing what they’re seeing? A lot of them were 30-, 40-year wildland firefighters, dispatchers, reporter types, sons and daughters of firefighters who grew up in the fire service with the radio chatting in the background. So it sounds like there was a community that was there that you tapped into. I understand you had to persuade them a little bit to see you as more than just a tech guy. That’s the beauty of this. We just saw the human behavior and helped enable them to do it better. One of the fires I went through, which was one of the big ones in 2020, when the sky turned red up in Northern California, I was watching them on Facebook and Twitter already doing this. So they were kind of regionalized. There was someone in Red Bluff, someone in Redding, someone in SoCal, someone in Sonoma, Napa. They were independently doing this. They knew each other. They would talk and collaborate a little bit, but they wouldn’t organize together. They weren’t adversarial, they just didn’t spend time really collaborating. The innovation was really [to] convince them all to work togetherthat I was not [just] a techie. That I lived here, like them, in the same danger that they did. The key was to convince them that I’m here to help. I’m part of this community. I’m not sitting in my laboratory in Silicon Valley trying to profiteer off of your disaster. And the information that they’re sharing, the app puts it into a more usable form or a more accessible form? Yeah, it’s a great question. We didn’t change their behavior. They were always listening to radios and speaking the language of the fire service and putting it on Facebook and Twitter. What happens behind the scenes is actually a lot more data. There’s a lot of signals coming in, and a lot of it is very tactical and minor, and we don’t want that to go out on Watch Duty. And so they’re collaborating in Slack. They’re all talking and listening. It’s very rare where there’s one person running an incident. There are many people in real time content editing: 15 acres heading north-northwest. Was it 50 or 15? Oh shoot, let’s wait for the next transmission, air attack’s about to be overhead.” “We’re going to get a size-up on the fire.” Then we deploy the information on Watch Duty. So in real time, they’re collaborating. Someone has the con, or control, and that person’s essentially incident commander. So of the folks who are on duty or running the event at that time, some of them may be volunteers and some of them may be your staff people? Yeah, it’s a mixed bag. Like many nonprofits, there’s paid staff and then there’s volunteers. And a lot of our volunteers are now either changing careers or having a second career, because first, they contribute and they listen, and then they start to report, and then they become a staff reporter or a regional captain in the area and help run and collaborate certain parts of a state or a region. And then many of them actually become full-time employees. During the fires I saw that Watch Duty passed ChatGPT as the No. 1 downloaded app. The traffic must have really caught you by surprise, just like the fire did. Yeah, it did. Here’s the sad part: We’ve been the No. 1 app in the App Store three times. This time was the worst, by far. Yeah, I mean, L.A.s own emergency alert system, there was one, but it was buggy. It was sending false alerts. So it wasn’t just L.A. residents that were using Watch Duty, right? It was government officials and firefighters and the helicopter pilots. Everybody seemed to be on it. Yes, the government also uses Watch Duty. We’re on all the big screens and all the emergency operation centers. We’ve done something that others haven’t been able to crack, and it’s a usable format. So whether you’re a little old lady or a hose dragger or a brush bunny, as firefighters refer to themselves as in the wildlands, they all use it and it’s done something that we didn’t see coming. We assumed that the government had all that information and they just weren’t telling us, not out of malice, but they’re busy, they’re trying to fight the fire. It’s very granular, the information we share, and then quickly we realize that we’re getting emails from tanker pilots and dozer operators and others telling us that we give them more information than overhead gives them. And that’s when we really realized this is a much bigger company than we ever thought possible. It’s strange. Is Watch Duty’s success, I don’t know, an example of te government’s failure or the failure of tax-funded technology? Or was there just no investment in this? Yeah, look, I mean, we work so closely with a lot of these government organizations and there’s failure abound. It’s everywhere. It’s how we voted as individuals. It’s the other software vendors who were selling lackluster products. It’s the government having no other options. There are so many points of failure here. It just really compounded that day and it was very apparent how necessary we were. It’s hard to just point blame at one person or one org. I know that’s what everybody wants is they want to blame the boogeyman so we can go fix it. And it’s not just climate change, it’s bad forest management. It’s like there’s so many things that are all working against us here. It’s making this problem extraordinarily bad.
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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. During the Pandemic Housing Boom, from summer 2020 to spring 2022, the number of active homes for sale in most housing markets plummeted as homebuyer demand quickly absorbed almost everything that came up for sale and sellers had ultimate power. Fast-forward to the current housing market, and the places where active inventory has rebounded to 2019 levels (due to strained affordability suppressing buyer demand) are now the very places where homebuyers have gained the most power. At the end of June 2025, national active housing inventory for sale was still -11% below June 2019 levels. However, more and more regional markets are surpassing that threshold. This list is growing: January 2025: 41 of the 200 largest metro area housing markets were back above pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels. February 2025: 44 of the 200 largest metro area housing markets were back above pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels. March 2025: 58 of the 200 largest metro area housing markets were back above pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels. April 2025: 69 of the 200 largest metro area housing markets were back above pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels. May 2025: 75 of these 200 major markets were back above pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels. Now, at the latest reading for the end of June 2025, 78 of the 200 markets are above pre-pandemic 2019 inventory levels and ResiClub expects that count will continue to rise this year. This next table helps you see what the inventory picture in these same 78 markets looks like now and what it looked like last year. Among these 78 markets, youll find lots in Sun Belt markets like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado. Many of the softest housing markets, where homebuyers have gained leverage, are located in Gulf Coast and Mountain West regions. Some of these areas were among the nations top pandemic boomtowns, having experienced significant home price growth during the pandemic housing boom, which stretched housing fundamentals far beyond local income levels. When pandemic-fueled domestic migration slowed and mortgage rates spiked, markets like Cape Coral, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas, faced challenges as they had to rely on local incomes to sustain frothy home prices. The housing market softening in these areas was further accelerated by the abundance of new home supply in the pipeline across the Sun Belt. Builders in these regions are often willing to reduce net effective prices or make other affordability adjustments to maintain sales. These adjustments in the new construction market also create a cooling effect on the resale market, as some buyers who might have opted for an existing home shift their focus to new homes where deals are still available. In contrast, many Northeast and Midwest markets were less reliant on pandemic migration and have less new home construction in progress. With lower exposure to that demand shock, active inventory in these Midwest and Northeast regions has remained relatively tight, keeping the advantage in the hands of home sellers. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}})}(); Generally speaking, housing markets where inventory (i.e., active listings) has returned to pre-pandemic levels have experienced softer/weaker home price growth (or outright declines) over the past 36 months. Conversely, housing markets where inventory remains far below pre-pandemic levels have, generally speaking, experienced more resilient home price growth over the past 36 months. ResiClub PRO members can find our latest inventory analysis for +800 metros and +3,000 counties here
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E-Commerce
As the school year winds down, many working parents face a seasonal challenge thats as predictable as it is taxing: how to stay productive at work while managing the logistics, emotions, and expectations that come with kids being home for the summer. For parents in leadership roles, the stakes can feel even higher. Over the past decade, as a mother of three and a leader in human resources and people operations, Ive learned firsthand how parenthood profoundly shapes ones approach to work and life. But these challenges are not just personal, theyre organizational. If employers dont address the summer wellness support gap, they risk employee burnout, decreased productivity, and long-term attrition. Its crucial that parents feel seen, supported, and empowered to thrive, both at home and in their professional lives. Why the Summer Crunch is Different and More Stressful Summer means parents suddenly take on the additional roles of full-time caregivers, activity planners, and sometimes even tutors, often while still carrying a full professional workload. With school out, daily routines dissolve, screen time goes up, childcare becomes patchworked, and workdays are punctuated by snack requests, playtime, and pleas for attention. For parents in high-pressure roles, this creates a relentless push-pull, fueling guilt, exhaustion, and a constant sense of falling short in both spheres. Whats the solution? Boundaries, Flexibility, and Mental Health First Here is a take that some may find controversial: the concept of balance is a myth. We often chase it only to feel more disappointed because its an unattainable ideal. Instead, I focus on integrationweaving work, parenting, and self-care together throughout the day in a way that honors each of these priorities. Presence is key. This means truly being in the moment, whether on a leadership call or with my kids. And thats harder than ever in todays always-on world, where Zoom fatigue and Slack notifications fragment our attention. Being on all the time blurs boundaries and drains our energy. In my own professional and personal life, Ive learned that rather than letting the summer months derail my rhythm, I encourage a handful of practices to stay aligned: Calendar Management and Sacred Personal Time Build intentional breaks into your day for mental rest. Dont overbook yourself and respect your own boundaries. When time becomes more limited, especially for working parents, calendars need to do more than just reflect your next meeting. They should actively support your energy and focus. That means intentionally scheduling short breaks throughout the day to reset and decompress. Even just 10 to 15 minutes between video calls can dramatically reduce fatigue. Without a set time for personal recovery, burnout becomes inevitable. Whether its a morning workout, a midweek therapy session, or a summer Friday reset for rest and solitude, carving out nonnegotiable time for yourself is critical. This isnt about being selfish. Its about making sure you have the energy and clarity to show up fully for both work and family. Practice Presence Train Yourself to be fully engaged with whichever role youre in at the moment, whether a meeting or a family dinner. Reduce multitasking when possible. When everything happens under one roof, its easy to blend work and home roles until neither gets your full attention. Practicing presence and focusing completely on the task or person in front of you can help reestablish meaningful boundaries and reduce guilt. If youre leading an all-hands or helping out with your daughters next vocab test homework, being fully present strengthens trust, deepens relationships, and improves performance. But presence isnt automatic. Its a discipline that requires reducing distractions and intentionally shifting focus before you log off for the day. Open Communication Negotiate clearly with your employer and colleagues, and at home. Share what you need and listen to the needs of others to find win-win solutions. Work-life intention hinges on mutual understanding. Whether youre agreeing on what to make for dinner with your partner or negotiating hours with a manager, clear communication is key. For me, it took clear conversations to protect the time I needed to recharge. Every Saturday, my husband takes the kids out so I can have uninterrupted hours to myself. That understanding allows me to reset only because weve agreed on it and protect it. The same principle applies at work. Ive carved out a few mornings a week for workouts, and that means my first meeting on those days doesnt begin until a bit later. That boundary is known and respected because I communicated it clearly, and I show up better because of it. Transparency and courage in these conversations foster trust and make it easier to adjust as circumstances evolve. Community Support Join or create employee resource groups to share advice and reduce stigma. Consider coaching or mentoring to gain tailored support on navigating parenting challenges in a work context. Connecting with other working parents can be a powerful antidote to isolation and burnout. Whether formalized through an employee resource group or informal lunch-hour chats, these communities, both big and small, offer space to share real-life challenges, swap ideas, and feel understood. Parent-focused groups, especially, help reduce stigma by normalizing common experiences, from managing day camp delays to navigating guilt over missed work milestones. These groups remind parents theyre not alone and that shared understanding is a strength, not a vulnerability. Additionally, coaching offers personalized support that acknowledges the complex intersection of parenting and professional growth. A coach can help clarify values, improve time management, and provide a safe space to work through challenges like setting boundaries, managing burnout, or feeling pulled in multiple directions. For some, coaching also provides an accessible starting point for broader mental wellness work, making it easier to take proactive steps before stress becomes overwhelming. Mental Health Resources Take advantage of the mental health benefits available to you, and seek help early if you feel it’s needed. Many mental health challenges escalate not because support isnt available, but because people wait too long to ask for it. Tapping into therapy resources or EAP services, even when youre curious, can help reduce stress before it snowballs into something more serious. It also sends a powerful message: mental well-being is just as important as physical health. Organizations that promote early access to resources and normalize their use create cultures where seeking help is seen as a strength, not a shortcoming. Lasting trust and engagement As leaders, we often talk about bringing our whole selves to work. For working parents, that includes showing up with te joys, stresses, and logistics of family life, especially in the summer. The good news is that with the right support in place, parents dont have to choose between professional success and family well-being. They can create workplaces where parents thrive professionally without sacrificing family connections. By prioritizing mental health, offering flexible solutions, and fostering a culture of compassion, employers can turn a seasonal challenge into an opportunity for lasting trust and engagement. As more leaders adopt this approach, the entire organization benefits from healthier, more engaged, and more loyal teams.
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E-Commerce
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