Kastner said this pilot project will be the largest the company has done with any state agency.įranz said it shouldn’t be the last. “The same type of performance and reliability, you can count on in these rural areas where we're monitoring wildfires.” “We build the same as if we do in big cities for rural communities,” said Erin Raney, senior director of advanced emerging technologies for T-Mobile. This summer, according to a T-Mobile news release, the cameras helped detect the Boulder Wildfire in the Mount Hood National Forest.

In Oregon, Portland General Electric has deployed 30 of the camera stations, according to Pano AI. The cameras will be installed in high-priority areas that show as much DNR land as possible, state officials said. Eventually, Franz said, those cameras could help with evacuation information. “I can tell you, I wish I would have had it when I was operational,” Williams said.īy next summer, the state hopes to have a total of 21 cameras up and running. That will make firefighting easier and safer, she said. “If you're using engines or aerial support, you can identify where the closest water resources are in relation to the incident, and you can automatically tell those resources where to reload their engine or where to send the aircraft to do bucket drops.” “One of the most important things is water,” Williams said. With Pano AI, it tells us exactly where (the fire) is.”īeyond that, the cameras will send images with topographical maps, including information on the nearest water source, and show how the wind is moving the fire. They don't have the longitude and latitude. They're looking for it, but they're trying to find it.

“The moment smoke’s in the air, they're flying straight to the fire.

“If we saw smoke in the air, whether it was spotted by a resident or one of our own people out, we’ll send the air resource,” Franz said. Getting resources in quickly is everything, said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. If it does look like a potential fire, Pano AI can text or email pictures and data to the state dispatch center, which officials say could drastically cuts down on response time. Once the cameras detect something, they send that data to people who will check out the information. While the AI cameras won’t replace any traditional tools, she said they will be an additional tool to help keep fires small. The AI is constantly searching the landscape 24/7 without rest.” With AI, you don't have that fatigue component. The person has to be on duty, scanning the landscape, and it's taxing. “It's harder and harder to post lookout positions. “It's really a modern day lookout,” said Kat Williams, a former wildland firefighter and the director of government development for Pano AI. The cameras, developed by San Francisco-based Pano AI, detect smoke and fire starts within a 15-mile radius. The Washington Department of Natural Resources has set up 11 stations, consisting of two 360-degree view, ultra-high definition cameras. So far, officials said they are working – helping to put out several fires, including the Crater Creek Fire in northeastern Washington. This fire season, the state has deployed cameras geared up with artificial intelligence. High-tech fire lookouts are now helping spot wildfires in Washington.

Washington and oregon fire map