In 2019, John Mills left San Francisco to start an off-grid homestead in Northern California, moving into a hay-bale house on 170 acres. A lifelong coder who also grew up in the forest working with his hands—as a woodworker, plumber, and electrician—Mills was ready to combine technology with country living.
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
He set out to build cabins, yurts, outdoor bathrooms, and gathering spaces, while cutting trees, clearing and burning brush, and laying miles of pipe to make the land more resilient. What began as a dream of sustainable living quickly became an education in homesteading and wildfire preparedness.
source.image: Kirsten Dirksen
Just one month after moving in, a California wildfire burned next door, filling the canyon with smoke. Mills realized how broken emergency communication was for rural residents and fire-prone communities. Out of necessity, he created Watch Duty, a real-time fire tracking app designed for country folk, now used in 22 states and relied on by fire crews and emergency responders.
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He named his homestead “Sherwood,” after Robin Hood—not as a lone hero, but as an everyman who depends on community. For Mills, the work of building a homestead goes hand in hand with fire resilience and land stewardship, and the lessons he’s learning on his property are ones he hopes to share with others facing wildfire risk.
In this video, Mills gives a tour of Sherwood, riding in his electric Polaris Ranger—crossing rivers and bouncing along rough trails—to show how off-grid living, wildfire technology, and sustainable homesteading come together in his vision for the future. John Mills’ story is part survival guide, part tech revolution, and part experiment in how to live with the land in an era of growing wildfires.
