SUPERIOR, Colo. — This December will mark four years since the devastating and historic Marshall Fire tore through Boulder County, killing two people and destroying more than 1,000 homes.
One of the houses burned that day was Aadi Sobti's childhood home.
“I have a lot of good memories there. I moved to that home when I was... eight months old, and I'd been living there my entire life," Sobti said.
Denver7 met with Sobti in Superior, where his family has since rebuilt their home.
“In the moment, you've lost your home," Sobti said. "There were many weeks where I just cried, and I was like, 'Why me?'”
He was only 13 years old when his home burned at the end of 2021. Now, at 16, Sobti has taken that pain and transformed it into a solution.
“Change must happen in order to make sure something like this never happens again," Sobti said. “People in my community were kind of like, after the fire, were paranoid over the fact that a fire might spring up any time.”
On a computer in his bedroom, Sobti developed Fire Watch, an app designed to help users prepare for a wildfire and know the probability of one occurring on any given day in any given location.
“On a big picture level, it's a system where people can be sure that there is no fire, or if there is a fire, they are aware and they are ready for that," the teen explained. "It also has a section of what to do in case they encounter a fire.”
Sobti dedicated hours of his time to the app, which will allow users to plug in the specific location they are interested in watching. It can also show users active fires around the globe.
“My goal was to create change, but the idea of creating an app came from the Congressional App Challenge, and there was a lot of support in my community over creating this app, which was great," he said.
Sobti entered Fire Watch into the 2024 Congressional App Challenge, which is open to middle and high school students. Sobti's work was recognized in Congressman Joe Neguse's district.
More than 12,000 students across the country participated in the challenge.
Fire Watch is not in the app store yet. Sobti is working to submit it, and then it must be reviewed by Apple to ensure the app meets their requirements.
In addition to Sobti's app, five other Colorado students were recognized for their work.
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