GTLA AirWatch is the live air-traffic dashboard for Los Angeles County and the surrounding SoCal basin. Every helicopter currently airborne over LA appears on the 3D map in real time, with FAA registration, operator identification, aircraft livery, and live flight trails sourced from ADS-B telemetry. Coverage extends from downtown Los Angeles north through the San Fernando Valley to Ventura County, east to the Inland Empire, and south through Orange County.
The map identifies aircraft from the LAPD Air Support Division, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) Aero Bureau, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) and LA County Fire (LACoFD), the California Highway Patrol (CHP), and the regional news fleets β KTLA Sky5, KNBC NewsChopper 4, KABC AIR7, KCAL Sky9 / KTTV SkyFOX, and CBS News. It also tracks military aircraft including the United States Navy, US Coast Guard, and US Army helicopters that transit LA airspace, plus firefighting heavies like the CAL FIRE Firehawks, LACoFD's Coulson-operated S-61 and CH-47 Helitanker, and air-medical operators including Reach Air Medical Services.
The "Who's hovering here?" feature at gtla.live/here identifies the helicopter directly above the visitor's current location β useful when residents see or hear a helicopter overhead and want to know what it's doing. Common use cases include identifying news-helicopter coverage of breaking events, tracking police-pursuit response, monitoring wildfire firefighting operations during fire season, and following major-incident airspace activity in real time.
Live launch alerts are delivered through the GTLA AirWatch Telegram channel: instant notifications when news helicopters depart their bases, indicating that something newsworthy is unfolding somewhere in Los Angeles.
π 19 helicopters over LA right now β 9 circling, 10 passing through.
Neighborhood page: Helicopters over Hacienda Heights
No aircraft hovering right now β coverage may have cleared.
π° ABC7: Palos Fire in La Habra Heights burns at least 3 structures Β· live: https://gtla.live/over/hacienda-heights?src=x&utm_source=x&utm_medium=alert&utm_campaign=swarm-hacienda-heights-20260914-widef
π° FOX11: LIVE: Palos Fire burning down homes in La Habra Heights of LA County
π° ABC7: Palos Fire in La Habra Heights burns at least 3 structures
β© 3 news helicopters returned to the scene β continuing coverage of the earlier story.
π° UPDATE: A brush fire is burning on a hillside south of Hacienda Heights and has reached at least one home. Β· follow live: https://gtla.live/over/hacienda-heights?src=x&utm_source=x&utm_medium=alert&utm_campaign=swarm-hacienda-heights-20260914-widef
π° FOX11: LIVE: Palos Fire burning down homes in La Habra
π» @lasdhq: β#LASD advising "Evacuation Warning - Level 2 - Set" for the Following Zones due to Palos Fire #LaHabraHeights #HaciendaHeights The Los Angeles County β Β· follow live: https://gtla.live/over/hacienda-heights?src=x&utm_source=x&utm_medium=alert&utm_campaign=swarm-hacienda-heights-20260914-widef
π° NBC4: Brush fire spreads to hillside home in La Habra Heights
π° ABC7: LIVE: Palos Fire in La Habra Heights burns at least 3 structures Β· live: https://gtla.live/over/hacienda-heights?src=x&utm_source=x&utm_medium=alert&utm_campaign=swarm-hacienda-heights-20260914-widef
3 news helicopters standing off around Hacienda Heights β Fire.
π° FOX11: LIVE: La Habra Heights brush fire extends into nearby homes
π° ABC7: LIVE: Palos Fire in La Habra Heights burns at least 3 structures
π° ABC7: LIVE: Palos Fire in Hacienda Heights burns at least 3 structures Β· live: https://gtla.live/over/hacienda-heights?src=x&utm_source=x&utm_medium=alert&utm_campaign=swarm-hacienda-heights-20260914-widef
π° NBC4: Brush fire spreads to hillside homes in La Habra Heights
π° ABC7: LIVE: Palos Fire in Hacienda Heights burns at least 3 structures
π° ABC7: Brush fire in Hacienda Heights burns at least 1 home
π° NBC4: Brush fire burns on hillside near homes in La Habra Heights area
π° ABC7: Brush fire burning in Hacienda Heights area threatening homes
3 news helicopters standing off around Hacienda Heights β Fire.
These are the aircraft our tracking has seen working this scene so far. It is what we watched, not a roster β an aircraft that never squawked a position, or that worked the scene from further out, would not be here.
