Interesting post on GigaOM about the L.A. Fire Department using Twitter (microblogging tool) to send updates on the fires path in California. Apparently the traditional media cannot keep up and users are demanding that information be available much faster. The post also mentions Google Maps mashups being created to track the fires.

I think Alistair Croll sumarizes it best: “In this era of personalization and mobility, it’s great to see an online community putting the latest tools to work. This combination of portable devices, mashups, and real-time status updates gives us a warning system for the masses.”