Hundreds of Networked Cameras Scan California Landscape for Wildfires
SAN JOSE (KPIX) -- From the highest mountain peaks in California to a decidedly less remote site just off Highway 87 in San Jose, a network of remote-control cameras is on the lookout 24/7 for wildfires.
TV newscasts have recently featured time-lapse images provided by ALERTWildfire, a multistate operation which was rapidly expanded to include 300 cameras across California, Nevada and Oregon following the devastating Tubbs Fire in 2017.
KPIX interviewed Dr. Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada Reno, which first launched this network on a smaller scale at Lake Tahoe.
"The camera is the great equalizer ... within about a minute you know what's going on," Dr. Kent said
Graham says the camera networks are monitored and can be controlled by emergency operations centers around the state. The live views are also available to the public.
Most often the cameras are used to quickly confirm initial reports, which is what happened with the Kincade Fire.
"You have to know early on whether it becomes an evacuation event or an early, tactical airstrike. You need to know how to scale up," Dr. Kent added.
The cameras are being used right now in Southern California to monitor the Maria Fire in Ventura County. In fact, the network actually caught the start of that fire.
Dr. Graham says now that the value of the cameras is so apparent its expansion is proceeding quickly.
"Everybody has been very helpful to get us to put out as many cameras as we can," Dr. Kent said.
The next phase of the project involves work with artificial intelligence so computers can monitor the cameras for fire starts.
